Come Along on England’s “Death Pathway”
I’m not sure whether or not this constitutes a “death panel,” but it’s certainly got the “death” part:
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, a group of experts who care for the terminally ill claim that some patients are being wrongly judged as close to death.
Under NHS guidance introduced across England to help doctors and medical staff deal with dying patients, they can then have fluid and drugs withdrawn and many are put on continuous sedation until they pass away.
But this approach can also mask the signs that their condition is improving, the experts warn. …
“As a result a national wave of discontent is building up, as family and friends witness the denial of fluids and food to patients.”
So without patient or family consent, doctors make the determination that a patient is close enough to death that they ought to spend their remaining hours under heavy sedation that might mask improvements in their condition. All that remains to do is to show them pretty pictures of mountain scenes and then ship their bodies off to the Soylent Green factory.
I think Sarah Palin shaped the issue perfectly. First, when you refuse to use prices in a free market to ration products or services, you must then ration by other means. In the case of healthcare; you get committees ( panels ) that limit care ( sometimes inducing death or a lesser quality of life ). Second, in an “American Idol”- non-stop entertainmnet society like the U.S.; it is sometimes necessary to leverage hyperbole to get people’s attention. Voila !!!
CLANG! “Bring out your dead!”
“Here’s one for you.”
“I’m not dead. I’m getting better.”
“No you’re not, you’ll be stone dead in a moment.”
“I don’t want to go in the cart. I feel happy!”