Assisted suicide, assisted dying differ
Re: Searching ‘along the 401’ for a place to die, by Anne Jarvis, Feb. 17.
This article slams Hotel-Dieu hospital for refusing to euthanize a patient. To be clear, there is a distinct difference between assisted suicide and assisted dying.
Assisted suicide is providing the means (tools, drugs) to a person who wants to take his or her own life.
Assisted dying is when a health-care professional injects a lethal solution into a patient to cause his or her death.
Patients may choose to have assisted death under the current law but healthcare providers should not be forced against their moral and ethical judgment to administer the lethal injection.
We need Hotel-Dieu to remain a “safe” hospital where people can receive palliative care and adequate pain management.
In the Netherlands, Belgium and many other countries that have had legalized assisted dying in place for years, it is common practice that if a patient enters a hospital after a certain age, he will never return home.
In addition, health insurance will not cover medications and treatment after a certain age but will cover assisted death.
We would be naive to think that this will not happen in Canada.
Right to die should be granted
Re: Searching ‘along the 401’ for a place to die, by Anne Jarvis, Feb. 17. Seriously? Two local and publicly funded hospitals cannot grant the final wish of a terminally ill patient? One because of religious beliefs.
Well then, religion has no place in our hospitals, if that’s their excuse.
We are more humane to animals. If someone asks to be put down, then their wish should be granted. After all, it is legal.
The other hospital claims to have no beds. How long did they think this patient was going to be staying?
Perhaps we could do away with the LHIN in order to have the necessary funding for extra beds for the terminally ill.
Seems those on the Sunshine List have no common sense nor compassion. It’s absolutely disgusting how these “hot potatoes” are being treated.
Province must address lack of beds
Re: Hospital cancels surgery as it deals with overcapacity, by Brian Cross, Feb. 11. There is no overcapacity. The rooms and the beds are there. The correct statement in the article is: “The hospital reported Friday morning it had 52 ‘Admit No Bed’ patients, meaning it has 52 more patients than it has funding for. “The patients are located at both its Met and Ouellette sites.”
It has been clear for some time that we here in the Windsor area have fewer so-called “long-term care” spaces than we should based on the demographics of the area.
In addition, it is also clear that Windsor has fewer care hours available than it should have to assist those who need care to stay in the homes longer (which would help alleviate the “long-term care” situation).
The funding or non-funding of beds is not a hospital management issue and is not an registered nurse issue. It is a provincial issue and a LHIN issue.