Though helped by his personal faith, supportive family and priest-friends, it was clear to me that his last weeks would have been much harder were it not for contemporary palliativ
According to constant Church teaching, it is, at least, impermissible ever for a private citizen to act with the intention of killing another person. The qualification “private cit
Palliative care practitioners are now better able than ever before to ameliorate end-of-life symptom distress. What remains less developed, however, is the knowledge base and skill
Palliation has always been a goal of medicine, besides cure and prevention. Modern palliative care has emerged since the 1960s due to the growing power of medicine. Palliative care
Frank approached his death with resignation, good humour, even generosity. He said his goodbyes and prepared to say his hellos beyond the grave.
There are major disparities in the provision of palliative care around the world. In recent years, a statement of advocacy and objective has been repeatedly articulated that the pr
At the cultural level and in terms of civil and Christian awareness, a serious and profound rethinking of the welfare models that have existed for the elderly so far is all the mor
Recent developments in science are influencing medical practice more and more, particularly in the treatment of the fatally ill and the dying. This state of affairs raises problems
The primary purpose of medicine, and of health care more generally, is to protect the well-being of patients, and secondarily to promote it. This purpose is stated in the ancient pre-Christian Hippocratic oath; “I will use those regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgment, and I will do no harm or injustice to them. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. … I will help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm”. In some circumstances, however, the role of medicine and nursing becomes that of caring for the dying, easing pain and distress, and the ethical question is what measures are morally acceptable in doing so. Traditionally, it has been held that one may not directly and intentionally bring about the death of a patient even to end suffering though one may take measures to relieve pain, e.g. through the use of morphine, even though one believes these are likely to hasten death. Others argue that patients have a right to be assisted to die, and even that doctors may end a suffering patient’s life without their consent.