Terminally ill get new rights to refuse life-prolonging treatment

DYING patients are being given new rights to refuse treatment that will prolong their lives under official government guidelines.

The new guidelines, which will come into force in Scotland later this year, mean that paramedics, GPs and hospital doctors will be forbidden from reviving terminally ill patients whose hearts stop if they do not wish to be resuscitated.

Ambulance crews en route to an emergency call, and often the first on the scene, will be informed electronically that the patient they are about to treat for cardiac arrest has agreed not to be revived.

All terminally ill patients will be offered the option for the first time and the guidelines will make clear that once a patient has made the decision, it cannot be overruled by doctors or relatives.

But although the move was last night welcomed by doctors as clarifying the medical procedures to be followed, patients rights groups warned that greater care must be taken to explain the consequences of a DNACR – Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – order written on medical records.

The new policy, being introduced by the Scottish Government this autumn, is aimed at both improving the care of the terminally ill patients and halting unwanted attempts to restart the heart of a dying patient. It is also an attempt to end confusion over "do not resuscitate" orders as, previously, many patients have been unaware of

their rights because "end-of-life" policies differed across Scotland.

There are concerns that in some cases relatives or healthcare staff may have overruled patients' final wishes. In some cases in which orders have been overlooked, resuscitation merely prolonged suffering or caused brain damage and broken ribs.

But the new policy will mean any decision made by the patient is final. All medical staff will be made aware of the decision, from GPs to ambulance staff, through electronic medical notes and written forms.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "Patients and their families will now have a greater say in how they are cared for towards the end of their lives.

"Dealing with a terminal illness is very distressing. By ensuring patients' wishes are listened to by everyone in the team caring for them, this policy aims to make this very difficult time a little bit easier for patients and their families.

"The new guidelines will help ensure that every patient is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve."

But Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients' Association, said: "We would hope and pray that this is truly the patient's own decision and not anyone else's. "The right to life is a basic human right and a patient is entitled to make this decision, but the question is will this work? Will it be implemented properly? This has got to be done very carefully."

A spokesman for the Catholic Church said: "Once an illness becomes burdensome you get to a point where treatment serves no purpose and we accept that patients get to a point where medical interventions no longer assist. But the point at which the line is drawn should only be where the medical advice is clear that there's nothing to be gained and the patient is in agreement with that."