Tag Archives: human

At the margins

There is a great tradition of healthcare professionals working as volunteers, both at home and abroad, and this is highlighted and celebrated by the BMA Doctors as Volunteers competition. I entered a poster this year, and was very pleased to be chosen as one of the two winners. Euston foodbank, where I volunteer, will be putting the £850 prize money to good use, ensuring our foodbank is welcoming, and purchasing essential equipment and stock.

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In the company of death

The Huffington Post have published an article I wrote on art and death. The edited version can be seen here. The original blog follows.

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The human touch

I recently took a group of medical students to see Mrs Cole*. She was 88 and was in hospital due to a severe exacerbation of COPD. She was kind enough to let us talk to her and listen to her lungs, despite being quite breathless. As we talked I perched on the edge of the bed and, as I often do, held her hand.  She grasped it tightly and wouldn’t let go. I finished the teaching session, sent the students off to their lecture, and stayed with Mrs Cole longer than I had intended. It felt like she was clinging to me as we talked; clinging to my youth, my health, and my carefree existence.

I couldn’t offer her much: we were treating her exacerbation but no drugs could reverse her lung damage. No words could allay her very real fears for the future. But I felt what I could offer – a tiny piece of my time, and my hand to hold – meant something.

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Do you have a right to die?

I like to think that I am in control of my life and get very frustrated when this control is taken away, even in trivial ways: when train delays make me late, when I am waiting for an interview panel to decide whether to employ me or when a relationship ends and I am on the receiving end of the “it’s not you, it’s me” speech. I often wonder how I would react to something more serious and substantial being taken out of my control. Something such as my health, my independence or my autonomy.

Autonomy and rights are a common focus of discussion, especially as we have moved from a paternalistic to a partnership model between the doctor and patient. Such issues have become central to the debate surrounding physician-assisted suicide and assisted dying. Do we have a right to choose the timing and manner of something so fundamental as our own death? To what degree do the wishes of an individual have to come second to the perceived adverse effects on society?

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Last week a man asked me to kill him

I had just told Mr George* that his end-stage heart failure had become refractory to treatment, and I thought it likely he would not survive this hospital admission. He looked at me carefully and said, “Well that’s it then. Can’t you just give me something…end it for me?”

This is not the first time a patient has asked me such a question, and will not be the last. Often the question is more ambiguous, and it is unclear exactly what they are asking for: “can you just put me to sleep?” could be interpreted as a plea to end their life, but could equally be a request for a break from their symptoms or thoughts, with the hope of a more energised remaining time afterwards. It is a constant challenge to interpret such questions appropriately and personalise support and treatment for the needs of the individual.

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