Description
Book SynopsisChristian and other nurses in the hostile modern and increasingly secular age may feel helpless in an environment that created the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) and continues to foster end of life 'care' through sedation and dehydration. The book aims to enlighten both health professionals and the public alike to their rights of conscience and knowledge of the needs of vulnerable patients whether related to ethical care or guidance and the law which can affect them. Indifference to patients’needs and suffering may be injurious to nurses' health all of whom have a conscience. This must be respected, protected and used as a guide to truly care for the patient's benefit, reqardless of laws and professional pathways which may prove harmful to many vunerable patients. The questioning nurse on ethical issues and dilemmas needs consideration, respect and support when attempting to act as the patient advocate. Managers at all levels need to be aware of the concerns of front line nurses and to be mindful that recruitment and retention are both equally important factors for the quality of patient care and nurse morale and work satisfaction. The NHS was a wonderful creation which is only as good as its staff at all levels. Its managers and government ministers must remember that the more authority invested in them, the more the accountability and transparency expected by both health professionals, their patients and the public.
Table of ContentsAcronyms used and their meanings ix Foreword xiii Preface xvii Introduction xxiii Chapters 1. Nursing history, philosophy and holistic care 1 2. Nurse-patient advocacy, ethical principles and moral distress 29 3. The nurses’ code of professional conduct, empathy and compassion 51 4. The government end of life care strategy 67 5. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and ethical principles for healthcare staff 85 6. Organisational culture 115 7. Conscientious objection, courage and staff support 149 8. Clinically-assisted nutrition and hydration: duty of care vs legal and professional guidance 185 9. NHS healthcare scandals – A: Failure to care 211 10. NHS healthcare scandals – B: The Liverpool Care Pathway 239 viii 11. NHS healthcare scandals – C: The COVID-19 pandemic 265 12. Presumed consent to organ donation 293 13. Assisted suicide 313 14. Euthanasia 359 15. Care of the dying patient: holistic needs 375 16. Medical futility 413 17. Staff support 427 18. Christianity and secularism 451 19. The future: achieving the goal of the Good Samaritan in healthcare 463 Sources of support 492 References 494 About the Author 541
