Doctor is cleared of asking nurse to give fatal dose to dying patient

doi:10.1136/bmj.b3812

Published 15 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3812
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3812

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Doctor is cleared of asking nurse to give fatal dose to dying patient

Clare Dyer

¹ BMJ

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

A GP has been cleared by the General Medical Council of instructinga nurse to administer a fatal dose of insulin to a terminallyill patient in a care home who was begging to be allowed togo home to die.

Rajiv Chhabra was merely "verbalising a thought" and not makinga request when he said that a high dose of insulin would bethe answer to the 85 year old patient’s problems, a GMCfitness to practise panel has concluded.

But the panel held that he acted inappropriately, irresponsibly,and against the patient’s best interests in giving voiceto the thought in the presence of the patient, Mrs A, who wasalert and could have heard him. It could have given rise tothe expectation that her death could be "facilitated in an illegaland unethical manner."

The panel decided, however, that the "momentary lapse" in anotherwise "unblemished . . . [Full text of this article]

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Doctor cleared of asking nurse to give fatal dose to dying patient: More honest nurses, please!: Felix ID Konotey-Ahulu
bmj.com, 17 Sep 2009 [Full text]