Greetings EEVBees:
--The latest from Poptones is "You just said it again, so don't pretend the high road of how you never said it. My father, when his mind was better, clearly said again and again he wanted great measures to be taken to extend his life. He was not religious and died of alzheimer's, which as you may or may not know destroys the mind and its abilities for critical thought. His choice in the end could easily be construed as due to madness."
--He provided a redacted quote by me, which omitted my statement that:
"If any of you happen to be the competent family representative in an end of life situation, then of course you would be the one to make the difficult decisions, and you would have my approval and sympathy."
--I cannot help but wonder why he left that statement out. A rather glaring omission, no?
--I am still waiting for any citation indication that NHS did not offer cash incentives as indicated.
--An this the latest:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/lizhunt/6322738/Pathway-for-the-elderly-that-leads-to-legal-execution.html"The Daily Telegraph reported two cases this week. Hazel Fenton, an 80-year-old from Sussex, was admitted to hospital in January with pneumonia and put on the Pathway regimen. Her daughter, Christine Ball, fought to stop her mother from being left to "starve and dehydrate to death". Nine months on, Hazel is doing well and is "happy", Christine says. Jack Jones, a cancer patient from Merseyside, wasn't so lucky. Doctors did not treat the 76-year-old's pneumonia because they claimed his cancer was spreading aggressively. A post-mortem examination found otherwise. His wife has never managed to confirm that Jack was on the Pathway, but she has no doubt he was denied precious time with his family."
--And from the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-19956955"Relatives of a cancer patient denied fluids at a Norfolk hospital have made an official complaint he was not given care he needed at the end of his life.
Andy Flanagan, 48, was being treated for pancreatic cancer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn. After a cardiac arrest staff stopped giving him fluids and wrote on his medical records "do not resuscitate. The family said they only discovered this when he came round during a visit. The hospital said it could not comment."
--So, I guess the Beeb is now "making it up", eh?
--I understand that NHS cannot write a blank check for all end of life situtations. But they should at least, keep the family informed of "do not resuscitate" orders, yes? Clearly this story is not going away.
"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field."
Niels Bohr 1885 - 1962
Best Regards
Clear Ether