A mum from Bradford has backed findings of a new report that claims children with Down's Syndrome face discrimination from doctors.

Kathy Allday-Scott says her daughter Aimee, now 12, might not be alive today if the family had not decided to get a second opinion after surgeons in Leeds told her there was nothing they could do to repair two large holes in the heart diagnosed when she was a baby.

An operation was later carried out by specialists in Liverpool who cured the life-threatening condition.

The experience is reflected in a new study by the Down's Syndrome Association which claims people with the condition are denied medical care.

A survey of more than 1,500 members of the organisation showed nearly a third expressed a high level of dissatisfaction with the care received by their children.

The association claims many medical staff regard people with Down's syndrome as second-class citizens which affects decisions over treatment.

Mrs Allday-Scott, of Grove House Road, Bradford, said the diagnosis made at the now-closed Killingbeck Hospital in Leeds had been a terrible blow and it was only after a chat with another parent that she decided to get a second opinion.

"The surgeon in Leeds deliberately tried to mystify us, talking in a language that we couldn't possibly understand. In Liverpool it was completely different. Now she's doing very well and is a very energetic, lively girl."

Carol Boys, director of the association, said the survey confirmed their worst fears.

"Like anyone else, people with Down's syndrome are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect and that includes equal access to any medical attention they need," she said.

A spokesman for Leeds Health Authority said it expected all patients to be able to access all appropriate treatments irrespective of any other condition.

A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals, which runs the newly-opened Yorkshire Heart Centre where most heart surgery in the area is carried out, said all patients were treated on clinical merit.

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