Chronic pain in older people €” is it therapeutic apartheid/

I was very impressed by the article Positive solutions in chronic pain that appeared in GM January 2009. I have experienced both sides of the problem of chronic pain, first as a general practitioner (recently retired), and now as a patient. I can confidently say that our local hospital has a hiddden agenda of ageism pervading across the board, and this probably applies to other NHS hospitals. It seems strange that even in the ninth year of the 21st year century, the cut-off from youth to senility is 65 years and has remained so for many decades, despite all the developments and advances in medical science and in living conditions.