Dying with dignity
From Dr D.W. Wheeler
Sir: Alasdair Palmer is right (‘Killing old people’, 29 October); sometimes we treat the elderly very badly and sometimes, but not always, geriatric wards can be depressing places. However, he is wrong on two matters. First, he assumes that ‘Do not resuscitate’ means ‘Do not treat’; unfortunately a common mistake also made by many working in health. Second, he implies that being ‘Not for resuscitation’ equates with an undignified death when often quite the opposite is true.
In the event of a major cardiac arrest even in hospital — only a very small proportion of elderly people will make any kind of meaningful recovery. Vigorously pounding on the chest of an elderly person when all present know there is little hope is anything but dignified.
Dan Wheeler Cambridge
Previous page
