OUR front page story today about the urgent inquiry into abuse at a North-East care home is a disturbing case of vulnerable and confused elderly people being treated badly.

Hopefully, there will be a thorough investigation and the appropriate action taken swiftly. But today we also report evidence of a much wider, systematic failure of elderly people that has disturbing long-term implications.

A study by experts has concluded that more than 3.5 million elderly people in Britain with mental health problems are being let down by inadequate support and services.

As people live longer, the more responsibility and financial need to do something about that shocking statistic grows more urgent.

The Northern Echo has for some time been campaigning to highlight the plight of Alzheimer's victims denied life- enhancing drugs costing £2.50 per day.

These are drugs which are widely available in other western European countries and in Scotland, but not in this country, and our campaign goes on, despite Friday's disappointing High Court ruling that health rationing watchdog the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) will not have to provide the drugs for those with mild symptoms of the disease.

Nice is, however, being forced by public reaction to rethink NHS availability of sight-saving drugs. The inadequate treatment of those suffering from wet age-related macular degeneration has been another example of the health service's failure to deal with an issue that is contributing to a huge increase in depression and stress for the elderly.

It is time we treated the older generation with the care and respect they deserve.