In the UK, and I suspect other parts of the world, there has been a debate on legalising, or at least giving people immunity from prosecution if they help someone to commit suicide. Pressure to actually come out and say something definitive has been increasing because of this debate and legal actions from a sufferer of MS from Bradford in the UK.
Debbie Purdy won a ruling by the Law Lords that she had a right to know what action her husband would face if he helped her to end her life. This has finally forced the Director of Public Prosecutions to say something, and the current incumbent of that role: Keir Starmer QC, has finally published a guidance paper. BBC News has a story on this.
As with anything like this there are the "PRO" and "ANTI" camps, and I think I have at least one foot in the "PRO" one for the simple reason that I think that the attitude of prolonging the life of someone with a terminal illness who has no quality of life for what ever reason is somewhat selfish.
God Forbid that I should ever end up in this situation. I doubt seriously whether I could cope with living in a state of complete immobility and pain. That said I wonder whether I could actually have the courage to take that enormous transition between worlds.
Wednesday 23 September 2009
Wednesday 2 September 2009
Random Thoughts 1
NHS Trusts trying to save money
Ah, the mind set of the accountant. So, to save money in the NHS, CFO's from the various trusts are going to again cut the staff they most need, i.e. nurses, in favour of those they don't, i.e. themselves! Have they never heard the saying "Better safe than sued" ? How long will it be after these job cuts that the family of someone who dies in a UK hospital sues the Trust responsible for negligence? And you can bet it won't be the people who caused the situation that will end up in jail, just the poor over-worked nursing staff again.
Biting the bullet.
Powerpoint is 25 years old apparently. From the number of PPT presentations I've had to sit through, it feels longer. Originally written for the MAC, Microsoft bought the company who wrote it in 1987. I think the person who created the slideshow on the BBC News site may be taking the **** with some of the slides.
I remember when........
Now I think I've heard everything - Glitch-hop. Seriously, being an engineer the word "glitch" means a problem. Maybe I'm getting old. :-(
Ah, the mind set of the accountant. So, to save money in the NHS, CFO's from the various trusts are going to again cut the staff they most need, i.e. nurses, in favour of those they don't, i.e. themselves! Have they never heard the saying "Better safe than sued" ? How long will it be after these job cuts that the family of someone who dies in a UK hospital sues the Trust responsible for negligence? And you can bet it won't be the people who caused the situation that will end up in jail, just the poor over-worked nursing staff again.
Biting the bullet.
Powerpoint is 25 years old apparently. From the number of PPT presentations I've had to sit through, it feels longer. Originally written for the MAC, Microsoft bought the company who wrote it in 1987. I think the person who created the slideshow on the BBC News site may be taking the **** with some of the slides.
I remember when........
Now I think I've heard everything - Glitch-hop. Seriously, being an engineer the word "glitch" means a problem. Maybe I'm getting old. :-(
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