Elderly Helped to Die. 2nd April 2000.

Sunday Times
THE callous treatment of the elderly in NHS hospitals has been exposed by a doctor who
claims patients are denied lifesa!in" treatment# are "rossly ne"lected and are "i!en dru"s
which hasten death.
$ita %al# 2&# a 'unior doctor# was so disturbed by her experiences that she is lea!in" the
profession. This wee( she will submit a dossier to the )eneral *edical +ouncil ,)*+-
detailin" the cases of abuse that she saw.
./ ha!e witnessed doctors who want to (eep beds clear by withdrawin" treatment or
acti!ely assistin" in death to the point where it becomes in!oluntary euthanasia#. she
said. She wants the "o!ernment to set up an independent in0uiry. Amon" the cases which
%al witnessed were1
2 A doctor who ordered the withdrawal of lifesa!in" medication of a dyin" patient after
statin" that the hospital needed beds.
2 A diabetic patient in her nineties who was depri!ed of basic medical attention after a
nurse commented# .She will die anyway..
2 +ritically ill patients whose li!es were cut short after bein" "i!en .unnecessary. doses
of diamorphine# which is commonly (nown as heroin.
2 A doctor who# when told about a patient dyin" from a li!er complaint# said# .3ell# he is
o!er 40.# and made no effort to administer medical attention.
%al# from Sutton +oldfield# 3est *idlands# trained at 5ni!ersity +olle"e 6ondon. She
'oined North Staffordshire hospital in 788& and wor(ed on two "eneral medical wards
each with about 90 patients. /n her first month# a senior doctor ordered the medication to
be withdrawn from an &8yearold stro(e !ictim who was critically ill and could not
spea( because he had a plastic tube down his throat.
.This man was actually conscious and could hear us#. said %al. .The doctor said# :3e
need the bed stop all his medication:. He ob!iously didn:t thin( he was "oin" to li!e. /
thou"ht1 we are (illin" someone because we want the beds.
.They stopped the medication and at about 8.;0pm he started "ettin" short of breath. /
held his hand and said# :<ou will be all ri"ht:. / was sic(ened by the whole episode..
%al disobeyed the doctor and "a!e the patient dru"s to help him breathe. He was
transferred to another unit# but later died. The doctor# whose name is (nown to The
Sunday Times# declined to comment last ni"ht.
6ast wee( one of the man:s relati!es said1 ./ thin( the NHS is atrocious. / don:t thin( they
care about old people..
Another elderly woman# who was diabetic# was also alle"edly ne"lected after bein"
admitted in No!ember 788&. She was in dan"er of dyin" if her blood su"ar went too hi"h#
but the nurses failed to monitor her properly. .She was incontinent and they wouldn:t
e!en clean her up properly#. she said. ./ must ha!e as(ed the nurses at least 70 times to
monitor the blood su"ar. =ne nurse said# :She will die anyway:..
/n >anuary 7888# %al too( up a new post at Selly =a( hospital. Althou"h she said ward
conditions were better# she was disturbed at the liberal use of diamorphine# which eases
pain and is used to treat heart conditions but can also hasten death.
/n one case she was so con!inced a dose of diamorphine she had been ordered to "i!e
would be fatal that she in'ected it into the patient:s mattress.
3hen another doctor saw that the patient was ali!e the next day# he said1 .=h# she is still
ali!e didn:t you start her on diamorphine?. The patient# sufferin" from pneumonia# later
reco!ered and left hospital.
.The doctor ordered that she be "i!en the dru" without examinin" her and / felt his
decision was based on her a"e#. said %al. ./ thin( diamorphine would ha!e (illed her
because it would ha!e reduced her respiratory rate. The doctor thou"ht she was "oin" to
die anyway# but days later / saw her sittin" up and puttin" on her lipstic(..
%al also encountered alle"ed abuse of diamorphine at North Staffordshire. =n one
occasion a female patient died after bein" "i!en what %al considered an unnecessary
dose. .She was dyin"# but / thin( this was speeded up#. said %al. .This was in!oluntary
euthanasia..
Her disillusionment with the NHS "rew after she failed to sa!e the life of a patient
admitted to 3orcester $oyal /nfirmary with internal bleedin" after bein" dischar"ed
prematurely. She feared the patient was bleedin" to death as he lay on a trolley in
accident and emer"ency# but none of the staff a!ailable had the necessary expertise to
treat him. The patient started to !omit blood# but there was no intensi!e care bed
a!ailable.
3hen she contacted a senior member of the medical team# the doctor said1 .3ell# he is
o!er 40.. The patient was subse0uently "i!en the necessary treatment but died after bein"
transferred to another hospital.
%al is now studyin" to be a barrister. ./ ha!e lost faith in medicine#. she said. .There is a
code of silence and it:s the hardest thin" to stand up and say somethin"..
=ne doctor who wor(ed with %al said she had raised le"itimate concerns about the use of
diamorphine. ./t:s the 0uestion of where you draw the line between relie!in" pain and
terminatin" life#. he said.
Dr *ichael /rwin# !icechairman of the @oluntary Euthanasia Society# said1 .*y main
concern is that diamorphine is bein" used without consultin" patients or tal(in" to
relati!es.
.That is in!oluntary euthanasia and althou"h we (now it happens# we don:t (now the
extent there are probably thousands of cases each year..
Dr Ni"el Sy(es# a consultant in palliati!e medicine at St +hristopher:s hospice in 6ondon#
said1 ./ ha!e seen patients o!erdosed with diamorphine so it certainly happens# but / don:t
belie!e it is done wilfully..
The cruelty and inhumanity of treatment meted out to some elderly patients in the NHS
was exposed two wee(s a"o by The Sunday Times. An underco!er in!esti"ation by a
reporter in two hospitals re!ealed that patients were not recei!in" proper medical
attention# were left in soiled clothes for lon" periods and were routinely ne"lected. The
article prompted a delu"e of letters from readers.
%al:s most serious alle"ations are made in the context# she said# of a health ser!ice which
is in .disarray. and routinely failin" its patients.
%al# who was re"ularly wor(in" 74hour days# admits her own super!ision was so
inade0uate that in No!ember 788& she nearly (illed one patient who was sufferin" from a
serious "all bladder infection.
After failin" to contact more senior doctors# %al "a!e the woman a drip because of her
fallin" blood pressure. The youn" doctor was# howe!er# so inexperienced that she "a!e
the patient too much fluid too 0uic(ly which .tipped. her into heart failure. The woman
reco!ered# but died days later.
6ast wee( North Staffordshire hospital said %al:s alle"ations will be .ta(en seriously and
fully in!esti"ated..
Andrew $eid# medical director of 5ni!ersity Hospital Airmin"ham NHS Trust# which
includes Selly =a( hospital# also said %al:s alle"ations would be in!esti"ated if she
pro!ided further details. A spo(esman for 3orcester $oyal /nfirmary said the li!er patient
%al saw had been dischar"ed .inappropriately. but# when readmitted# recei!ed the
specialist treatment he re0uired.