The BBC's June Kelly: Campaigners say sufferers deserve equal access

In some cases parents of Down's syndrome children have been invited to withhold life-saving treatment for a condition that is perfectly treatable.

People with Down's syndrome have also been denied routine treatment for common ailments such as hearing and sight problems.

The survey conducted by the Down's Syndrome Association (DSA) found that more than one in four people with the condition had been discriminated against by health professionals.

Responses from 1,509 parents in the association showed that 28% expressed a high level of dissatisfaction with the medical care their child had received.

The DSA claims that the survey reveals that many medical staff view people with Down's syndrome as second-class citizens and that these views often affect their treatment decisions.

Types of discrimination reported by survey respondents include:

• Failure to treat Down's syndrome as individuals

• Dismissing unrelated and treatable medical problems as being an inevitable part of the syndrome

• Making comments that imply negative judgements about the value of the life of someone with Down's syndrome

• Use of the word "Mongol" to describe a patient although the term has been excluded from medical usage for more than 20 years

In one case the first words a paediatrician said to a new mother after examining her baby were: "You have a Mongol."

Another consultant said about a child of two: "There is not point in working your guts out to help him because he will never be normal."

Worst fears realised

Carol Boys, DSA director, said: "Our worst fears have been realised in the results of this survey.

"It is clearly wrong that medical practitioners should contravene existing laws and guidelines in this way.

"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."

The DSA makes a number of recommendations on the back of its report. These include:

• An urgent need to implement existing government guidelines more quickly

• Assurance to be given to parents who decline ante-natal testing or who test positive and continue with the pregnancy that they will be treated with the same respect and dignity as others

• A call for more emphasis on the training of medical students with regard to learning disabilities

• No person with Down's syndrome to be denied treatment on the grounds of their condition

• Echocardograms to diagnose potential heart defects to be carried out on all babies with Down's syndrome

• Wider implementation of routine checks for all health problems including those which are more common in people with Down's syndrome.