• Campaigners warn Britons  missing out on vital care as NHS is ‘erecting barriers’

Shaun Wooller www.dailymail.co.uk (Extract)

The NHS is discriminating against elderly patients with one in six GP practices now taking bookings online only, a study suggests.

Campaigners warn Britons are missing out on vital care as the NHS is ‘erecting barriers’ that limit opportunities to see a family doctor face-to-face.

This is forcing people into private healthcare or overcrowded A&E departments and hits those without internet access hardest, over-60s group Silver Voices said.

Its poll of 1,200 members reveals 76 per cent have experienced difficulties in obtaining a face-to-face GP appointment.

Eighty per cent have been forced to accept a telephone consultation and 71 per cent begrudgingly saw another member of practice staff…..