Covid-19 and intensive care
The current coronavirus epidemic is putting hospitals under severe pressure and is leading to a substantial number of deaths. This is an occasion to consider making (if you have not…
Illnesses
Consciousness in the vegetative state
A most interesting new book by Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist, entitled ‘Into the Gray Zone’, explores what he terms the border between life and death. The author has used brain…
Living Wills in old age
The My Living Will website initially focused on the specific medical conditions most likely to lead to loss of capacity to participate in decisions about health care towards the end…
Motor Neurone Disease
Mr D, a 65 year old man, developed Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a condition that affects the nerves that control the muscles. He read extensively about MND and went to…
End of life care for people with dementia: results of a survey
A recent contribution to thinking about end of life care for people with dementia has been made by the NHS Directors of Clinical Care for Dementia and End of Life…
States worse than death
A paper published last year in a journal of the American Medical Association reported findings of a study that asked patients in hospital with serious illnesses whether they considered certain…
Limited benefits of cancer chemotherapy
In an article (and podcast) in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last November, Peter Wise, a former consultant physician, argues that the nearly 20% improvement in five year survival from…
Tom’s Club
Haringey Memory Clinic has ‘Tom’s club’, a place where carers meet to share experiences and have conversations. I had previously visited the club for a morning discussion with carers and…
A decision to refuse further treatment
A palliative care physician asked me to visit his patient at home. At the agreed time, I was greeted by his very friendly wife and teenage daughter who invited me…
Memory Clinic Support Group
I was invited to join a meeting of the Memory Support Group of a North London Memory Clinic. The meeting was led by the nurse who is part of the…