Man wins battle to keep receiving life support: Doctors must always give patients best possible care

doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7464.515-a

BMJ 2004;329:515 (28 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7464.515-a

Letter

Man wins battle to keep receiving life support

Doctors must always give patients best possible care

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Some will be appalled at the recent ruling in thecase of Leslie Burke against the General Medical Council¹ andsee it as opening the floodgates to patients demanding all sortsof treatments that theoretically prolong life but are expensiveand possibly dangerous, as well as undermining the specialistrole of medical professionals in making expert decisions.

The emotive nature of feeding and hydration means that we, thedoctors, may not use evidence as the basis for our clinicaldecisions and, as the Disability Rights Commission rightly pointsout, we risk using personal judgments based on factors suchas quality of life.¹ No doubt the GMC guidelines were createdin good faith, but they make it possible for doctors to wieldexcessive paternalistic power and to leave the patient feelingvulnerable, as Mr Burke clearly felt himself to be.

Feeding and hydration should be kept separate from other . . . [Full text of this article]

Rosemarie Anthony-Pillai, specialist registrar in palliative medicine

Sue Ryder Care—St John's Hospice, Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire MK44 3RJ roseap@doctors.org.uk