Rights and Duties
A 72-year-old man is admitted to the intensive care unit. He was clearing out a gutter when he fell off the ladder and hit his head on the pavement. Passers-by immediately called an ambulance, and he was taken straight to theatre, where a large subdural hematoma was drained. Subsequent tests indicate that he fell from his ladder because he suffered a massive myocardial infarction. He has yet to recover consciousness, and it is thought that he has had irreparable brain damage due to anoxia. The intensive care unit has a family room, which has been taken over by the patient’s family. It is also constantly filled with well-wishers from the church who hold prayer and song meetings around the clock. Relatives of other patients are complaining about the lack of access to the family room and the noise levels. However, when the senior staff nurse asks them to keep the noise down, this patient’s son threatens the hospital with legal action for religious discrimination. He also says that the hospital is impeding the chances of his father’s recovery because if they cannot hold a prayer meeting, the hospital is preventing the possibility of a miracle from God. Despite full active medical treatment and round-the-clock prayers, this patient makes no improvement over the next 6 weeks. The medical team decides to discuss the possibility of allowing him to die in peace by withdrawing supportive medical intervention but the wife and one son refuse point blank to allow this to happen and insist that everything be done for him, including resuscitation. They continue to threaten the hospital with lawsuits as they do not believe that the patient is being cared for properly. No joint decision is ever made, and after 11 weeks the patient has a cardiac arrest and dies following a 60-minute cycle of resuscitation.
- What are the duties of the medical team?
- What are the patient’s rights? Are they being taken under consideration?
- What role do religious beliefs play in the decision-making process?
Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare Competencies + Clinical Medical Ethical Principles) to Practice in order to provide Optimal Patient-Centered Care (OPCC)
Clinical Ethics and Law, Second edition. Carolyn Johnston, Penelope Bradbury, Series editor: Janice Ryme
