The finding comes from a recent Help the Aged report, 'Pain in Older People: Reflections and experiences from an older person’s perspective'.

Help the Aged is calling for the Department of Health to recognise pain in older people as an urgent public health issue.

Our research found that:

• nearly five million people aged 65 and over are in some degree of pain or discomfort;
• 53 per cent of people think health professionals typically dismiss pain in older people as ‘old age’;
• 47 per cent are not confident that health professionals can alleviate pain in older people effectively;
• 55 per cent wrongly think being in pain is an inevitable part of growing older.

Paul Cann, Director of Policy and External Relations for Help the Aged, says: 'Despite assumptions to the contrary, pain is not an inevitable part of growing older. It must not be tolerated, either by older people themselves or those responsible for their care. 

'Pain is not an inevitable part of growing older'

'Ageism and patchy services mean that all too often, older people are left in pain. Pain is exhausting – it undermines dignity, changes personality and drastically reduces quality of life.

'With millions of older people living in pain, it’s imperative that the Department of Health, regulatory bodies, the NHS and social care agencies all work together to ensure pain is managed. The first step is ensuring healthcare providers are monitored and assessed on how well they manage pain in patients.'  

The report 'Pain in Older People: Reflections and experiences from an older person’s perspective' will be available to download from this page next week.