Voluntary euthanasia- and DNR

[bagpuss]

I know one hospital consulatant who has a tatto on his chest which reads

Do Not Rescuscitate

If life post retirement has dementia or degenerative illness on the menu how many of us might opt for a short stay in Switzerland, or make a living will that spells out our wishes for the people taking care of us?

[theone]

I'd hate to have a degenerative illness, so in many ways I'm all for voluntary euthanasia, but I can understand people with strong views on the subject.

As for "do not rescusitate", I can't see how anyone can argue with that. Refusing health care is a choice we all have.

I do wonder though, does this consultant have an illness? How old are they? It's one thing not wanting to live when old and ill, but what if they fall in the river and drown tomorrow?

[Tubthumper]

I'm in a quandary. Apparently one in 5 of us could live to see 100, and half an aspirin a day can help prevent just about everything. But do I really want to stick around?

[bagpuss]

There is always the unspoken thought that DNR could become a form of culling those members of the population who might cost the most to the NHS - and could be abused.

it might suit those politicians who dread the babyboomers drain on the public purse once they hit retirement age

[bagpuss]

How many of us are aware that anyone over 50 is deemed a low priority for medical treatment- if hospitalised there is less pressure to get anyone over 50 back to full recovery

[theone]

How many of us are aware that anyone over 50 is deemed a low priority for medical treatment- if hospitalised there is less pressure to get anyone over 50 back to full recovery

I'm not surprised there is an age set for priorities, I am surprised it's as low as 50 though.

[shazzap]

How many of us are aware that anyone over 50 is deemed a low priority for medical treatment- if hospitalised there is less pressure to get anyone over 50 back to full recovery

I must have been lucky, if that is the correct word to use. To have had my op for cancer when i was 49 then. Phew.

[canadagirl]

I would think that the consultant with the do not resuscitate tattoo is probably concerned about severe brain damage due to head injury or whatever, not necessarily becoming senile. Unfortunately do not resuscitate orders are given after the damage is done, so he is being pro-active to save himself and family a lot of misery.

[Blarney]

I'm in a quandary. Apparently one in 5 of us could live to see 100, and half an aspirin a day can help prevent just about everything. But do I really want to stick around?

I hope that you intend to stick around long enough to sort out the mess that WADF is in

[bagpuss]

Ireland stops free medical treatment for those over a certain age- I think around 70

Apply that to say cancer treatment for pensioners and we might have a very different set of stats for those reaching 100
and of course it would reduce that deficit.

Should we encourage people to take out private medical insurance - sooner rather than later to reduce the drain on the public purse in years to come?

[theone]

Ireland stops free medical treatment for those over a certain age- I think around 70

Apply that to say cancer treatment for pensioners and we might have a very different set of stats for those reaching 100
and of course it would reduce that deficit.

Should we encourage people to take out private medical insurance - sooner rather than later to reduce the drain on the public purse in years to come?

Difficult questions, morally.

I have private medical insurance but many people I know who can afford it don't. And why should they? They have paid their NI contributions and so should expect a decent level of service. Maybe when the level of service that the NHS can provide drops below that level more people will chose private healthcare.

Although it's maybe not popular opinion, my view on the NHS/social care system in general is that we should provide the basic needs but no further. I think we've crossed beyond that and now spend disproportionate amounts enhancing the standards of life for the minority rather than improving the health of the majority.

[shazzap]

Ireland stops free medical treatment for those over a certain age- I think around 70

Apply that to say cancer treatment for pensioners and we might have a very different set of stats for those reaching 100
and of course it would reduce that deficit.

Should we encourage people to take out private medical insurance - sooner rather than later to reduce the drain on the public purse in years to come?

I had private medical care. When i had to have my Thyroid nuked, they couldn't do it. I had to go through the NHS. How many other illnesses does private medical care NOT cover?

[suzyq]

Some time ago I saw a retired nurse being interviewed on TV about her Do Not Resuscitate (sp?) tattoo. Having witnesssed the care, and also lack of care, of elderly patients herself she had decided that was not something she wanted for herself!

She was very rational about it and having made that decision for herself I hope if the time comes the medical profession respects her wishes.

[gleeber]

Maybe it's the company I'm keeping or the papers I read but there's something about the modern world that frightens me. It could be my age but Its more likely a mix of it all.
A few years back I would never have considered euthanasia as an option in a civilised society but now I could be convinced by a reasonable argument.
It would be awful if there was a sliding scale of treatments available but how much more the life of a young cancer sufferer to an older person suffering from an incurable and awful illness?
A living will's a good idea.

[ShelleyCowie]

I'm in a quandary. Apparently one in 5 of us could live to see 100, and half an aspirin a day can help prevent just about everything. But do I really want to stick around?

Stick around with me! U know u want too!

[bagpuss]

what worries me is this relentless determination to tackle the deficit at all costs. it wouldn't take much for this sort of mindset to start a Logan's Run mentality- that only the young should be prioritised- until we all reached a sell by date. Reduced care costs, reduced pension pay outs-and scare people into the sort of saving that fear of the workhouse promoted in the years before the first National Insurance act.

Getting old isn't for cissies - as the late Bette Davis said, but most old people have relatives and friends who would be devastated if anything happened to them.

Something that is heart rending is the plight of those who outlive their loved ones and go unvisited in hospital wards and care homes- and they might be the obvious targets for such measures

[theone]

I don't think it's a determination to tackle the defecit at all costs, it's a NEED to do so.

We have to spend no more than we make. That's just common sense. The days of borrowing without worrying about how to repay are gone.

The problem this, and future governments have is that in order to be in power they have to be popular with the electorate. That raises a huge problem in that what is necessary, and what is good for the country, is not always what is popular. I've harped on about this before, but if you give a child the choice between a parent or guardian who allows them to stay up late, miss school and homework while eating junk food or a strict parent who does the opposite, which parent wins the vote? Not the one that is best for the child, but the one that is popular. The same is true for political elections, and that is one failure I find in democracy.

Back to the issue though - I actually think the NHS and social care systems have gotten off pretty lightly in comparison with other cost cutting measures.

[bekisman]

How many of us are aware that anyone over 50 is deemed a low priority for medical treatment- if hospitalised there is less pressure to get anyone over 50 back to full recovery

Might have been the procedure back in 2002, but my mother, who was 86, was found unconscious by my brother, ambulance called.. during the journey to hospital she was resuscitated twice, and lived a relatively healthy life until she was 92!

[suzyq]

I have long suspected that medical need alone is not the main consideraton for prioritising treatment - and the patients position on a waiting list is not just age-related either.

Having recently had to attend hospital on two separate occasions for minor accidental injuries I was horrified at the questions I was asked about my personal circumstances - i.e. married/partner or single? children? do I work? my occupation? where do I live? who do I live with? do I own my own home?

I was horrified because more emphasis was placed on getting the answers to these questions rather than the physical effects of my injuries or my 'physical' lifestyle (which was the direct cause of my injuries). None of these had anything to do with the reason I was at the hospital and when I queried their need to know the only answer I could get was the information was needed for their records but they couldn't give the reason why.

Read in to this what you will but some of these questions just confirmed long-held suspicions. - And it has confirmed my own personal decison on what I would want to do if the worse happens.

[Thumper]

My oldest son is also my next of kin and he knows that if it ever comes to it,I am DNR!He also knows that if I have some sort of uncurable painful illness I would want to take my own life,painlessly and with dignity,he knows that after watching both my dad and my father in law died long slow deaths i simply do not want to put myself or my family through this,I also worked for years as an auxilliary and watched many people suffer,I for one wouldnt want that x