Humane end-of-life care doesn’t mean starving

SIR – If care-home staff withdraw food and drink, as described by Louise Broughton (Letters, January 11), in a “no medical intervention” end-of-life care policy, they are applying it incorrectly.

The GP in charge of care at my father’s nursing home agreed that medical intervention was no longer in his best interests, and gave no further medications.

However, my father did have a small meal on the day he died. Food and drink are not medications. Adrian Waller

Woodsetts, South Yorkshire

SIR – Anyone wishing to request “no medical intervention” should have been advised by their medical professionals to include a statement requesting pain relief.

If the issue of advance decisions was discussed more openly, and the medical information needed to write one were more easily available, the sort of tragedy described in this letter could be averted. Elizabeth Lewis

London NW6 SIR – The situation described by Louise Broughton, in which a person is effectively allowed to starve to death, horrifies me.

Given that more and more countries are allowing peaceful assisted deaths, such conduct is nothing short of barbaric. Parliament must heed public opinion on this matter. Arthur Bayley

Tyldesley, Lancashire

SIR – Louise Broughton wishes that medics were allowed to administer morphine “to ensure a pain-free death”.

This is what happened to my father in 1965. He died from a bone cancer. There were no effective treatments back then but, because of the excruciating pain which occurs as the skeleton collapses, our local doctor and family friend administered increasing doses of morphine to ease my father out of this world.

There were no recriminations: just a lovely, caring doctor doing the best for his patient.

Dr Paul G Williams

Helston, Cornwall