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My mother made out a living will, why did they save her life?
(Daily Mail Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)A FAMILY has condemned a hospital after a woman of 94 was fitted with a pacemaker - despite having a 'living will' that told of her wish to die.
Dorothy Freeman, who is disabled, had a letter with her saying she did not wish her life to be prolonged artificially when she was taken seriously ill with a heart condition.
But last night her daughter told of her family's fury that doctors ignored the instructions, resuscitated her mother and then fitted her with the pacemaker.
'All she wanted was a peaceful death, and we were not allowed to let this happen,' said Cecily Young, who has made a complaint against the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
The row comes days after it emerged that doctors could face prosecution if they refuse to allow patients to die in accordance with so-called 'living wills'.
A draft code of practice says they must follow a patient's instructions on what should happen if they become incapacitated, or run risk of prosecution for assault.
Mrs Freeman, a widow, is partiallysighted, deaf and confined to a wheelchair. She has already refused tablets for her blood pressure and turned down medical treatment because she has lost the will to live.
The pensioner, whose husband Gerald was a picture restorer, has been living in a care home near Honiton, Devon.
Last month she was taken to the hospital after a near-fatal seizure caused by a previously undiagnosed condition which affected the rhythm of her heart.
Because she did not have her instructions - which had been passed to her GP and care home - with her, she was resuscitated.
When staff were later shown her request, they decided not to fit a pacemaker.
But when she had a second seizure two weeks ago, her family say she had the document with her but was not only resuscitated but fitted with the pacemaker.
Her family say doctors are ignoring her wishes and that the great-grandmother should be allowed to pass away in peace.
Mrs Young, 62, said: 'All she tells us is how much she wants to die.
She has become confused and lost interest in things such as watching television or reading or listening to the radio.
'My mother's instructions were sent with her when she was taken ill, and my daughter went along with her to the hospital.
'During this time, apparently, my mother's heart stopped for one-and-a-half minutes. But doctors resuscitated her, totally ignoring the instructions and my daughter's pleas.' Mrs Young believes her mother was pressured into allowing doctors to fit a pacemaker. 'I can't believe she understood what was being asked,' she said. 'She is eager to please, so probably would have agreed to it so that she didn't cause problems.
'But she has been left physically very bruised and mentally quite traumatised.' Mrs Freeman has now returned to her care home but repeatedly tells relatives she wants to die.
A spokesman for the hospital said Mrs Young's complaints would be investigated.
According to the British Medical Association, living wills are generally respected.
A spokesman said doctors have a duty to look at such documents and act in the patient's best interests. They also have to assess if the patient is capable of making informed decisions.
General Medical Council guidelines say: 'Any valid advance refusal of treatment - one made when the patient was competent and on the basis of adequate information about the implications of his/her choice - is legally binding and must be respected where it is clearly applicable to the patient's circumstances and where there is no reason to believe the patient had changed his/her mind.' It goes on to give instructions for when the adult does not have the capacity to 'decide for themselves'.
If the patient's wishes are not known, the doctor is charged with acting in his or her best interests, using information from 'those best placed to know'.
b.hale@dailymail.co.uk
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