Doctors should avoid making assumptions about patients’ choices at the end of life

doi:10.1136/bmj.c2609

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Clare Dyer

¹BMJ

The General Medical Council has issued comprehensive new guidance for doctors on end of life care, including advice on how to decide whether to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and when to withhold or withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration.

The guidance, which comes into force on 1 July, covers the whole of the United Kingdom and replaces the GMC’s 2002 guide on withholding or withdrawing life prolonging treatments. It follows extensive consultation and takes into account recent court cases, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, GMC guidance on consent in 2007, and government strategies on end of life care in England and Scotland.

The GMC said it also wanted to use the guidance …