[...]... and even if it is not strictly medical treatment, it must form part of the medical care of the patient ” 8 Withholding and Withdrawing Life-prolonging Medical Treatment This classification of artificial nutrition and hydration as medical treatment, which has been the published view of the BMA since 1992, has been adopted in other subsequent cases in England and Scotland8 and is now established common... Withholding and Withdrawing Life-prolonging Medical Treatment Patients refusing medical treatment should ideally base their decisions on sufficient accurate information including an awareness of the condition, the proposed treatment, any significant risks or side effects, the probability of a successful recovery, the consequences of not having the treatment and any alternative forms of treatment Such information... Contemporaneous refusals of life-prolonging treatment 9.1 A voluntary refusal of life-prolonging treatment by a competent adult must be respected It is well established in law and ethics that competent adults have the right to refuse any medical treatment, even if that refusal 15 Withholding and Withdrawing Life-prolonging Medical Treatment results in their death This position is reinforced by the Human Rights... between withholding and withdrawing treatment when making decisions about an individual patient, this is not to say that emotionally and psychologically the two are equivalent Many health professionals, as well as patients, feel an emotional difference between withholding and withdrawing treatment This is likely to be linked to the largely negative impression attached to a decision to withdraw treatment. .. instituting medical treatment is to provide a health benefit to the patient The same justification is required for continuing treatment which has already been started In fact, withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment is often morally safer than withholding it In many cases the beneficial effects of such treatment cannot be foreseen, making it inappropriate to withhold treatment Treatment is, therefore, often... information is available This view of the legal and moral equivalence of withholding and withdrawing treatment was expressed by Lord Goff and Lord Lowry in the Bland case, with the latter saying: “I do not believe that there is a valid distinction between the omission to treat a patient and the abandonment of treatment which has been commenced, since to recognise such a distinction 12 Withholding and. .. wishes, the treatment s invasiveness, side effects, limits of efficacy and the resources available In relation to many conditions, a body of accepted practice has been building about the criteria for treatment and non -treatment decisions Nevertheless, the BMA is concerned that comprehensive guidance outlining the criteria and steps to be followed in making these decisions, particularly where the decision. .. respect a person’s private and family life 2 Scope of this guidance 2.1 The main focus of this guidance is decisions to withdraw or withhold life-prolonging treatment from patients who are likely to live for weeks, months, or possibly years, if treatment is provided but who, without treatment, will or may die earlier In some areas mention is also made of treatment decisions for those patients whose imminent... Stephen Webster and The UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum The Medical Ethics Committee is also grateful for the help and advice provided by the BMA’s Science and Research Adviser, Dr Bill O’Neill xiii This Page Intentionally Left Blank Introduction In medicine, decisions are made on a daily basis about the provision, withholding or withdrawing of treatments, many of which could prolong life Treatments which... to take the Act into account (The BMA xv Withholding and Withdrawing Life-prolonging Medical Treatment has also prepared general guidance on the impact of the Human Rights Act on medical decision making. ) Under the terms of the Act all public authorities have to act in accordance with the bulk of the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, and all statutes have to be interpreted so . w0 h1" alt="" Withholding and Withdrawing Life-prolonging Medical Treatment Guidance for decision making Second edition incorporating guidance on the. refusals of life-prolonging treatment 18 11. Contemporaneous requests for life-prolonging treatment 20 12. Advance requests for life-prolonging treatment