Speaking of Death Panels:
"Elderly patients are being condemned to an early death by hospitals making secret use of "do not resuscitate" orders"
Here in the 'States, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders are "affirmative;" that is, one must pro-actively sign a special form indicating that this is indeed one's desire. Absent such permission, it's generally difficult to legally force a health care provider to withhold or end treatment (cf: Terri Schiavo).
Not so in Merry Olde England:
"The orders ... are routinely being applied without the knowledge of the patient or their relatives ... At another hospital, junior doctors freely admitted that the forms were filled out by medical teams without the involvement of patients or relatives."
How's that "first, do no harm" thing working out for the Much Vaunted National Health Service©?
And it's widespread, as well:
"The findings emerged in spot checks of 100 hospitals ... A charity for the elderly said the disclosures were evidence of "euthanasia by the backdoor"
Of course, it's an easy "fix:" dead grandma's don't have much to say or about which to complain. And talk about savings: cutting off medical care is a sure-fire way to meet funding quotas, especially when end-of-life care has become so expensive. Here, of course, we simply lop off a half trillion dollars from Medicare to fund a major health care overhaul (to the immediate benefit of Junior Americans).
Which begs the question: are American seniors safe?
"Elderly patients are being condemned to an early death by hospitals making secret use of "do not resuscitate" orders"
Here in the 'States, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders are "affirmative;" that is, one must pro-actively sign a special form indicating that this is indeed one's desire. Absent such permission, it's generally difficult to legally force a health care provider to withhold or end treatment (cf: Terri Schiavo).
Not so in Merry Olde England:
"The orders ... are routinely being applied without the knowledge of the patient or their relatives ... At another hospital, junior doctors freely admitted that the forms were filled out by medical teams without the involvement of patients or relatives."
How's that "first, do no harm" thing working out for the Much Vaunted National Health Service©?
And it's widespread, as well:
"The findings emerged in spot checks of 100 hospitals ... A charity for the elderly said the disclosures were evidence of "euthanasia by the backdoor"
Of course, it's an easy "fix:" dead grandma's don't have much to say or about which to complain. And talk about savings: cutting off medical care is a sure-fire way to meet funding quotas, especially when end-of-life care has become so expensive. Here, of course, we simply lop off a half trillion dollars from Medicare to fund a major health care overhaul (to the immediate benefit of Junior Americans).
Which begs the question: are American seniors safe?
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