End of Life Choices : Consensus and Controversy by Fiona Randall download DJV, EPUB, DOC
9780199547333
English
0199547335
A book for nurses, doctors and all who provide end of life care, this essential volume guides readers through the ethical complexities of such care, including current policy initiatives, and encourages debate and discussion on their controversial aspects. Divided into two parts, it introduces and explains clinical decision-making processes about which there is broad consensus, in line with guidance documents issued by WHO, BMA, GMC, and similar bodies. Thechanging political and social context where 'patient choice' has become a central idea, and the broadened scope of patients' best interests, have added to the complexity of decision-making in end of care. Theauthors discuss issues widely encountered by GPs, nurses, and hospital clinicians. These include patient choice, life-prolonging treatment, and symptom relief including sedation. Part two explores the more controversial current end of life care initiatives, such as advance care planning, preferred place of care and death, euthanasia and assisted suicide, extended ideas of 'best interests', and the view that there are therapeutic duties to the relatives of patients. Throughout their discussionthe authors draw attention to loose ends and contradictions in some of the proposals. Examining the current policy of consumerist choice, they reject its place in the health service, proposing arealistic, fair, humane and widely adoptable system of end of life care. As knowledge of ethical theories is required in training courses, and the vocabulary of ehical theory is widespread in current discussions a substantial appendix on ethical theories and terms is available online. Written by the same authors as The Philosophy of Palliative Care: Critique and Reconstruction, which won the Medical Journalists' Association Specialist Book Award2007, this new book for non-specialists is essential reading for all health care professionals involved in providing end of life care., Palliative care is undergoing a period of rapid change, both in perceptible ways such as legislation, policy, and clinical guidelines, but also in its philosophy and ethics. There is ambiguity surrounding even the definitions used, ranging from palliative care, to supportive care, to end of life care. Randall and Downie propose that the uncertainties in the current thinking on end of life care may change the two ethical (and legal) principles on which modern medical care has been built -that practitioners must obtain the informed consent of the patient for treatment, and that practitioners must seek the best health interests of their patients. They will examine a wide range of issues, themes and contradictions prevalent in modern palliative/end of life care. These include: choice, assisted suicide, roles and values, responsibility, rights, Advance Care Plans, withdrawal and withholding of treatment, advocacy, the Mental Capacity Act, best interests, definitions, and the newDepartment of Health End of Life Care Strategy. This Palliative care is undergoing a period of rapid change in perceptible ways through legislation, policy, and clinical guidelines, but also in its philosophy and ethics. End of Life Choices: Consensus and Controversies examines a wide range of issues, themes and contradictions prevalent in modern palliative/end of life care. These include: choice, assisted suicide, roles and values, responsibility, rights, Advance Care Plans, withdrawal andwithholding of treatment, advocacy, the Mental Capacity Act, best interests, definitions, and the new Department of Health End of Life Care Strategy. Split into two sections, End of Life Choices: Consensus and Controversies provides guidance through the ethical minefield that has developed for doctors and nurses who care for patients towards the end of life. The first section discusses some of the issues of end of life care as they are still widely encountered by GPs, nurses and hospitalclinicians. It presents a mainly consensus view on patient choice, consent, life-prolonging treatment and symptom relief, including sedation. The second section discusses some current controversies, such as advance care planning, preferred place of care and death, physician assisted suicide, and extended ideas of 'best interests', including the idea that there are therapeutic duties to the relatives of patients. Additional online resources outline the common ethical theories and the vocabularyused in ethical theory which will be useful for readers who are taking part in training courses. The authors hope that this book will provide a guide through the complexity of clinical situations and current regulations, and also stimulate informed debate on current controversial issues. It will be of use to all those involved in care of the terminally ill, both specialists and those outside the current palliative care domain, as well as policy makers, researchers and ethicists.
9780199547333
English
0199547335
A book for nurses, doctors and all who provide end of life care, this essential volume guides readers through the ethical complexities of such care, including current policy initiatives, and encourages debate and discussion on their controversial aspects. Divided into two parts, it introduces and explains clinical decision-making processes about which there is broad consensus, in line with guidance documents issued by WHO, BMA, GMC, and similar bodies. Thechanging political and social context where 'patient choice' has become a central idea, and the broadened scope of patients' best interests, have added to the complexity of decision-making in end of care. Theauthors discuss issues widely encountered by GPs, nurses, and hospital clinicians. These include patient choice, life-prolonging treatment, and symptom relief including sedation. Part two explores the more controversial current end of life care initiatives, such as advance care planning, preferred place of care and death, euthanasia and assisted suicide, extended ideas of 'best interests', and the view that there are therapeutic duties to the relatives of patients. Throughout their discussionthe authors draw attention to loose ends and contradictions in some of the proposals. Examining the current policy of consumerist choice, they reject its place in the health service, proposing arealistic, fair, humane and widely adoptable system of end of life care. As knowledge of ethical theories is required in training courses, and the vocabulary of ehical theory is widespread in current discussions a substantial appendix on ethical theories and terms is available online. Written by the same authors as The Philosophy of Palliative Care: Critique and Reconstruction, which won the Medical Journalists' Association Specialist Book Award2007, this new book for non-specialists is essential reading for all health care professionals involved in providing end of life care., Palliative care is undergoing a period of rapid change, both in perceptible ways such as legislation, policy, and clinical guidelines, but also in its philosophy and ethics. There is ambiguity surrounding even the definitions used, ranging from palliative care, to supportive care, to end of life care. Randall and Downie propose that the uncertainties in the current thinking on end of life care may change the two ethical (and legal) principles on which modern medical care has been built -that practitioners must obtain the informed consent of the patient for treatment, and that practitioners must seek the best health interests of their patients. They will examine a wide range of issues, themes and contradictions prevalent in modern palliative/end of life care. These include: choice, assisted suicide, roles and values, responsibility, rights, Advance Care Plans, withdrawal and withholding of treatment, advocacy, the Mental Capacity Act, best interests, definitions, and the newDepartment of Health End of Life Care Strategy. This Palliative care is undergoing a period of rapid change in perceptible ways through legislation, policy, and clinical guidelines, but also in its philosophy and ethics. End of Life Choices: Consensus and Controversies examines a wide range of issues, themes and contradictions prevalent in modern palliative/end of life care. These include: choice, assisted suicide, roles and values, responsibility, rights, Advance Care Plans, withdrawal andwithholding of treatment, advocacy, the Mental Capacity Act, best interests, definitions, and the new Department of Health End of Life Care Strategy. Split into two sections, End of Life Choices: Consensus and Controversies provides guidance through the ethical minefield that has developed for doctors and nurses who care for patients towards the end of life. The first section discusses some of the issues of end of life care as they are still widely encountered by GPs, nurses and hospitalclinicians. It presents a mainly consensus view on patient choice, consent, life-prolonging treatment and symptom relief, including sedation. The second section discusses some current controversies, such as advance care planning, preferred place of care and death, physician assisted suicide, and extended ideas of 'best interests', including the idea that there are therapeutic duties to the relatives of patients. Additional online resources outline the common ethical theories and the vocabularyused in ethical theory which will be useful for readers who are taking part in training courses. The authors hope that this book will provide a guide through the complexity of clinical situations and current regulations, and also stimulate informed debate on current controversial issues. It will be of use to all those involved in care of the terminally ill, both specialists and those outside the current palliative care domain, as well as policy makers, researchers and ethicists.