(Photo: albert schweitzer ziekenhuis) |
An unusual
experiment is due to start in February in the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the
Dutch town of Dordrecht. Patients who do not want to be reanimated will be
given red wristbands.
Specialist
Valentijn Drexhage explains the problem:
“The
patient’s wishes are normally noted in the medical file, except sometimes when
it has been forgotten. If the file isn’t in the room where the patient needs
reanimating, it’s an acute situation. It’s a question of split seconds and you
can’t waste time looking for a file. That’s the dilemma. We have sometimes
started something that later we regretted, not to mention the patient, of
course, and the family members.”
Patients
have a variety of reasons to elect not to be reanimated. Old people are sometimes
no longer so keen to continue living and some patients are fearful about the
risks of reanimation. A spokesperson for the hospital points out that the
impact of reanimation of the patient and close relatives is serious: “The
majority of patients suffer lasting damage from being reanimated.”
Vegetable
One patient
in the oncology department of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital is all in favour
of the experiment. She is opposed to reanimation for religious reasons. The
advantage of the wristband is that doctors can see right away what to do:
“It’s
usually a hectic situation when something happens and when they have to decide
whether or not to act. Life after reanimation is pretty grim. I have no desire
to live like a vegetable.”
Playing
safe
Patients
aren’t always recognised at the critical moment and if there was the slightest
doubt doctors have, understandably, always played safe and gone for
reanimation. Patients are normally asked on admission whether they have any
objection to reanimation. Drexhage:
“Sometimes
the problem was with patients who came to us from the outpatient clinic and
have passed from one department to another, but we now have departmental
secretariats which will keep a closer eye on this in future.”
Sensitivity
The
experiment will continue until mid-May then a decision will be taken whether to
continue. A spokesperson for the Dordrecht hospital is enthusiastic:
“We were
worried there would be too much sensitivity about this kind of system, but it
looks as though the opposite is true.”
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