Professor Seale's research reported in the Guardian
‘Third of doctors act to shorten lives of dying’
The Guardian (Saturday) p.7
Institute of Health Sciences Education: Professor Clive Seale
Research carried out by Professor Seale has revealed that a third of doctors have given drugs to terminally ill patients or withdrawn treatment knowing that it would shorten a life. Of the 3,000 cases studied, 211 doctors prescribed drugs to speed up death and 825 made a decision that would result in the patient’s death. Professor Seale said that medical decisions were often based on doctor’s religious beliefs but added vulnerable patients were not being targeted. “People sometimes say if you legalise assisted dying, then very elderly people in care homes will be pushed towards death. But the paper is fairly reassuring on that,” he said.
Read the full article on Guardian.co.uk