YOUNG mother Jane Saunders feels her whole life has collapsed around her. A crippling spinal condition has made walking an agony and caring for her three children an impossible challenge.

Mrs Saunders, 32, claims she is a victim of age discrimination - because of her youth. She suffers from osteoporosis and arthritis - diseases more usually associated with the elderly. Last month her condition worsened and she needed urgent treatment at Southampton General Hospital.

Now back at home in Tristan Close, Calshot, Mrs Saunders has to use a wheelchair and often feels sick and dizzy from the effects of her daily cocktail of prescribed medication. She is bitter about the level of after-care she has been offered by the health service.

She said: "I am only 32, so I am too young. If I was 65 I would qualify for far more help and far more equipment than I am getting.

"If it wasn't for my kids I'd have to stay in bed all day. The pain is so bad despite all the painkillers."

Mrs Saunders, whose husband Ian often has to work away from home, said she has to rely on Katie, 9, Jack, 7, and Tia, 5.

"I have been told I mustn't cook because I could fall. But I only have a carer in for three half-hour sessions a day. How can anyone do all the things a family needs in that time? I haven't been able to have a bath for a week. I need the loan of specialist bathroom equipment like a pulley, and a stair lift to get upstairs.

"My whole life has been split into pieces and I feel no one is helping me. I make dozens of phone calls but everyone passes me on to someone else.

A spokeswoman for Southampton General Hospital said: "I'm very sympathetic - it is hard to get on with life when you are suffering back pain.

"But Mrs Saunders was thoroughly assessed by expert therapists, who made sure she was independent to climb stairs and use the toilet before they released her to go home.

"She was discharged with a full follow-up care package, and was supplied with quite a lot of equipment - a raised chair, a raised loo seat, a grabber to pick things up from the floor and a form for a Red Cross wheelchair, which is standard practice. We do not keep a full range of aids for loan at the hospital.

"There is no question of age discrimination. Mrs Saunders is having the same level of care that anyone in her situation would receive."

A health authority spokeswoman said: "We have spent a lot of time trying to organise things for Mrs Saunders. Staff at the Blackfield practice liaised with several agencies to make arrangements for her.

"It is not fair to suggest a home visit was refused. A doctor will always come out if it is medically advisable. But if a matter can be sorted out by phone it is obviously quicker to do that."