I don’t know whether this is due to the quality of life ethic, strained resources, or indifference–but it appears that dependent seniors face malnourishment while in care in some Scotland NHS hospitals. From the story:
One of the country’s leading health campaigners has urged the Scottish Government to urgently tackle the problem of malnutrition of the elderly and vulnerable in the nation’s hospitals, likening the problem to a form of “euthanasia”. Dr Jean Turner – executive director of Scotland Patients Association (SPA), a GP and former independent MSP – warned that hundreds of patients, particularly the elderly, are languishing in hospital beds undernourished because they are not given help with feeding. She says nursing staff are often reluctant to air their concerns about patient welfare because of a fear of repercussions from senior management.
A recent report estimated that 50,000 patients are dying each year in NHS hospitals in a state of malnutrition, which may have hastened their end. New figures released by the British Dietetics Association earlier this week revealed that the problem costs Scotland’s health boards around £1.3 billion each year. The SPA’s warning follows a report by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, which was highly critical of a Lanarkshire hospital’s care of a 66-year-old patient.
And this is where many want to legalize assisted suicide! Are you kidding me?
July 13th, 2010 | 3:43 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Vince Humphreys and Lisa. Lisa said: BIOETHICS WATCH => Malnourishing Seniors in Scotland http://dlvr.it/2Zl81 #912 #ocra #ucot #rs #tcot #tlot #sgp [...]
July 13th, 2010 | 1:56 pm
I would think myself that a reluctance to instate feeding tubes (whether NGs or, especially, PEGs) might be part of the problem. I forget what euthanasia advocate it was from whom I saw a quotation praising Europe on the grounds that “you almost never see anyone with a feeding tube there.”
There can be reasons to install a feeding tube even when a patient is able to swallow, if the patient is unable to get enough nutrition that way because of weakness, etc. This quotation indicates that nurses would have to take time to help the patients eat and that they don’t have the time to do it. While it may sound like a cold-hearted situation, we don’t live in a world where there is an infinite supply of nursing time to feed patients by hand. That’s one reason why feeding tubes are often used. But if there is an aversion to that in the medical culture in the UK, then that could explain why these patients are being allowed to become malnourished rather than supplementing with tube feeding.
July 15th, 2010 | 2:50 am
This is very scary. If this can happen in Scotland, obviously it can happen in the US. I’ve come to the conclusion that if my parents need to be cared for in this way, I will care for them in my home. There’s NO way I would subject them to the potential for this happening.
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