This headline made me so cross, yes I know I shouldn't take any notice of the "red tops" but lots of people do; many of them my patients and their relatives. The story is about the recent recommendations made by the Resuscitation Council and supported by the Royal College of Nursing. These proposed that experienced nurses especially Consultant Nurses have the right to decide that resuscitation is not appropriate should the patient suffer a cardiac or respiratory arrest. It is not about a nurse choosing who should die. If a patient suffers an arrest then there is little chance of survival, the person is obviously very ill and it is rare to "bring someone back" it's not like on the TV or in films. There are many situations when the patient would not wish to be resuscitated; if their condition is terminal or they consider their quality of life to be very poor. It is often a nurse that a patient will share their views and discuss their feelings about their treatment, rather than a senior doctor on a hurried ward round in front of other patients. In addition to this there are many patients now that are under the care of a consultant nurse rather than a doctor. This is not about nurses choosing who should die, it is about the nurse involved ensuring a patients wishes are respected and allowing these people to die with dignity.
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