In this issue

Editorial
A number of scandals have been hitting the press in the last month and these have included the reported hundreds of deaths in Staffordshire where basic care has failed with thirsty patients drinking from flower vases! Then there are inquests into deaths in Hampshire where sedation and hydration are issues being considered by the coroner. Now there is the case of the whistle blowing nurse who secretly filmed patients being neglected for a Panorama program who was struck off for breaching confidentiality. She defended herself by claiming to be acting in the public interest. There is growing alarm about the standard of care being delivered in the NHS particularly to the elderly. Read More ...

The nurse and the patient’s spiritual needs
A recent episode, which was widely reported in the press resulted in a nurse being suspended who had offered to pray for an elderly patient she was treating at home. The precise circumstances are clearly a matter for the individual and the PCT concerned but it does give rise to certain questions. Read More ...

CONTROVERSIES IN THE DETERMINATION OF DEATH
Dear Mr. President:I am pleased to present to you a white paper by the President’s Council on Bioethics entitled Controversies in the Determination of Death. It is the report of an inquiry that was occasioned by another forthcoming Council report on ethical questions in organ transplantation. The two reports are linked ethically: most of the organs procured for transplantation in this country come from deceased donors who have been declared dead in accord with the neurological standard. Read More ...

Medical Ethics Alliance
106A Battenhall Road
Worcester
WR5 2BT
United Kingdom

Tel : +44 1905 352967
Fax : +44 1905 352967

info@medethics-alliance.org