Giving Britain's senior nurses the power to make life or death decisions has intensified the debate over the ethics of caring for the seriously ill.

"This sounds like yet another nail in the coffin for vulnerable and elderly patients," said Julia Quenzler, from SOS NHS, a group critical of Britain's national healthcare service.

For the first time, senior clinical nurses now have the power to decide whether or not patients should be resuscitated, The Telegraph reported Saturday.

The British Medical Association's decision was made, in part, because a new law lets patients state in advance if they wish to be resuscitated if their heart or breathing stops. They also can choose someone to make the decision for them if they are incapable of acting.

The decision giving more power to nurses was supported by the Royal College of Nursing, said Dr. Peter Carter, a spokesman for the college.

"This guidance should help spare patients and their families the heartache and indignity of repeated and sometimes unnecessary resuscitation attempts," he said.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 29 October 2007   

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