| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
  Dying by inches July 18, 2004 Reporter :Graham Davis Producer : Nick Rushworth  They’re our ultimate safety net — the intensive care units of our major hospitals. High tech and high touch, it’s a comfort to know that however sick we are — wherever we are — if we need them, they’re only an ambulance trip away. The dollar pressures on our public hospitals are well known. Intensive care units — costing as much as $6,000 per bed per day — are bearing the brunt of this. As Australia's population ages, we're living longer, but living sicker — the number of admissions to intensive care of people aged 80 and over has tripled in the past five years. And often when we reach that age, we've long lost the ability to say what kind — or how much — treatment we would want to receive in the event of a life-threatening illness. Many families, by default, are demanding that "everything be done" for their loved ones. We have the technology to keep many people alive indefinitely, but that robs a bed from a patient with a longer — and better — life expectancy. Some of the nation's most senior doctors are finally telling it like it is. Governments claim their pockets are empty. Neither of the major parties would dare run on a platform of higher taxation. Under these kinds of pressures, intensive care is simply too valuable a resource not to be rationed. Admissions should be prioritised. Only those likely of long-term quality survival should receive the best care that taxpayer money can buy. Other doctors argue that alternatives to hospital admission have to explored, especially when patients are admitted to intensive care against their wishes. But before they lost the capacity to express their wishes, how could they have made them known to their doctors and family? A number of hospitals have invested a lot of effort in introducing Advance Care Directives (also known as "living wills") to the elderly. They document what kind — and how much — treatment they would like to receive in the event of life-threatening illness. For more information about Advance Care Directives, contact your local General Practitioner or your state or territory guardianship authority, below: NSW: The Office of the Public Guardian: www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/opg.nsf/pages/index Phone: 02 9265 3184 or 1 800 451 510 (within NSW) Also, "Using Advance Care Directives" (NSW) www.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/2004/adcare_directives.html NSW Department of Health Phone: 02 9391 9000 Victoria: Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal: www.vcat.vic.gov.au/ Phone: 03 9628 9700 or 1 800 133 055 (within Victoria) ACT: Office of the Community Advocate: www.oca.act.gov.au/index.html Phone: 02 6207 0707 Tasmania: Guardianship and Administration Board: www.justice.tas.gov.au/guar/ Phone: 03 6233 3085 NT: www.nt.gov.au/health/org_supp/performance_audit/adult_guard/guardianship.shtml Phone: 08 8999 2609 Queensland: Guardianship: www.justice.qld.gov.au/guardian/home.htm The Office of the Adult Guardian Phone: (07) 3234 0870 or 1300 653 187 (outside Brisbane) SA: Office of the Public Advocate: www.opa.sa.gov.au/ Phone: (08) 8269 7575 or 1800 066 969 WA: Guardianship and Administration Board: www.justice.wa.gov.au/ Phone: (08) 9219 3111 or 1300 306 017 (for country callers) Click here to read a transcript of this story Postscript The following statement was sent to the Sunday program from Mary Foley, Chief Executive Officer at St Vincent's Hospital: "St Vincent's Hospital welcomes the important debate raised by Sunday on the complex issues associated with appropriate use of intensive care services. "We believe that judgements about the futility of a treatment outcome must be distinguished from judgements about the value of a person’s life. "St Vincent's Hospital treats all patients equally on the basis of clinical need. "As a Catholic health care provider we believe that life is a gift from God. Our Mission is to affirm life and healing and in so doing respect the human dignity of each person and the sanctity of all human life." |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
