Withholding and Withdrawing Life-Prolonging Medical Treatment: Guidance for Decision Making

Contents......Page 4
Foreword......Page 8
Medical Ethics Committee......Page 10
Editorial Board......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
1. The primary goal of medicine......Page 20
2. Scope of this guidance......Page 24
3. Definitions......Page 25
5. The inherent uncertainty in medical treatment......Page 30
6. Withholding or withdrawing treatment......Page 31
7. How to use this guidance......Page 33
9. Contemporaneous refusals of life-prolonging treatment......Page 34
10. Advance refusals of life-prolonging treatment......Page 37
11. Contemporaneous requests for life-prolonging treatment......Page 39
12. Advance requests for life-prolonging treatment......Page 43
13. Capacity and incapacity......Page 44
14. Duties owed to babies, children and young people......Page 49
15. Decision making for babies and young children who cannot consent for themselves......Page 53
16. Decision making by competent minors......Page 57
17. Medical factors to be considered......Page 64
18. Ethical factors to be considered......Page 70
19. Legal factors to be considered......Page 77
20. Additional guidance......Page 81
21. Legal considerations......Page 82
22. Additional procedural safeguards......Page 86
23. Informing others of the decision......Page 88
25. Recording and reviewing the decision......Page 89
26. Providing support......Page 91
Appendix 1 Some useful addresses......Page 98
Notes and references......Page 102
B......Page 107
D......Page 108
G......Page 109
L......Page 110
P......Page 111
T......Page 112
Y......Page 113