Tài liệu hạn chế xem trước, để xem đầy đủ mời bạn chọn Tải xuống
1
/ 113 trang
THÔNG TIN TÀI LIỆU
Thông tin cơ bản
Định dạng
Số trang
113
Dung lượng
435,12 KB
Nội dung
[...]... and even if it is not strictly medical treatment, it must form part of the medical care of the patient ” 8 WithholdingandWithdrawingLife-prolongingMedicalTreatment This classification of artificial nutrition and hydration as medical treatment, which has been the published view of the BMA since 1992, has been adopted in other subsequent cases in England and Scotland8 and is now established common... Withholding andWithdrawingLife-prolongingMedicalTreatment Patients refusing medicaltreatment should ideally base their decisions on sufficient accurate information including an awareness of the condition, the proposed treatment, any significant risks or side effects, the probability of a successful recovery, the consequences of not having the treatmentand any alternative forms of treatment Such information... Contemporaneous refusals of life-prolongingtreatment 9.1 A voluntary refusal of life-prolongingtreatment by a competent adult must be respected It is well established in law and ethics that competent adults have the right to refuse any medical treatment, even if that refusal 15 WithholdingandWithdrawingLife-prolongingMedicalTreatment results in their death This position is reinforced by the Human Rights... between withholdingandwithdrawingtreatment when making decisions about an individual patient, this is not to say that emotionally and psychologically the two are equivalent Many health professionals, as well as patients, feel an emotional difference between withholdingandwithdrawingtreatment This is likely to be linked to the largely negative impression attached to a decision to withdraw treatment. .. instituting medicaltreatment is to provide a health benefit to the patient The same justification is required for continuing treatment which has already been started In fact, withdrawal of life-prolongingtreatment is often morally safer than withholding it In many cases the beneficial effects of such treatment cannot be foreseen, making it inappropriate to withhold treatmentTreatment is, therefore, often... information is available This view of the legal and moral equivalence of withholdingandwithdrawingtreatment was expressed by Lord Goff and Lord Lowry in the Bland case, with the latter saying: “I do not believe that there is a valid distinction between the omission to treat a patient and the abandonment of treatment which has been commenced, since to recognise such a distinction 12 Withholding and. .. wishes, the treatment s invasiveness, side effects, limits of efficacy and the resources available In relation to many conditions, a body of accepted practice has been building about the criteria fortreatmentand non -treatment decisions Nevertheless, the BMA is concerned that comprehensive guidance outlining the criteria and steps to be followed in making these decisions, particularly where the decision. .. respect a person’s private and family life 2 Scope of this guidance 2.1 The main focus of this guidance is decisions to withdraw or withhold life-prolongingtreatment from patients who are likely to live for weeks, months, or possibly years, if treatment is provided but who, without treatment, will or may die earlier In some areas mention is also made of treatment decisions for those patients whose imminent... Stephen Webster and The UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum The Medical Ethics Committee is also grateful for the help and advice provided by the BMA’s Science and Research Adviser, Dr Bill O’Neill xiii This Page Intentionally Left Blank Introduction In medicine, decisions are made on a daily basis about the provision, withholding or withdrawing of treatments, many of which could prolong life Treatments which... to take the Act into account (The BMA xv WithholdingandWithdrawingLife-prolongingMedicalTreatment has also prepared general guidance on the impact of the Human Rights Act on medicaldecision making. ) Under the terms of the Act all public authorities have to act in accordance with the bulk of the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, and all statutes have to be interpreted so . w0 h1" alt=""
Withholding and Withdrawing
Life-prolonging Medical
Treatment
Guidance for decision making
Second edition
incorporating guidance on the. refusals of life-prolonging treatment 18
11. Contemporaneous requests for life-prolonging treatment 20
12. Advance requests for life-prolonging treatment