There are very few worse ways to die than dehydration. It’s a good solid bet that even an unconscious patient suffers enormously if allowed (or forced) to die of thirst.
This is the way Terry Shaivo (sp) died.
Terrible.
NHS saving money?
My mother had difficulty sleeping because she knew she was dying. A doctor prescribed Atavan for her anxiety. When she entered a coma, the visiting Hospice nurse said not to try to wake her, let the natural dying process proceed. When she became restless with some moaning noises, I dissolved an Atavan pill in a little water and used a dropper to give her some without waking her. She became peacefully comatose again and died the next day.
When my husband lost interest in eating, I phoned the 2 VA system doctors who had met with us several months earlier when I realized he was not going to last much longer. We had confirmed with them his “do not resuscitate”, do not hospitalize orders we had prepared 4 years earlier with a lawyer while his mind was still working adequately. As I and my visiting son listened, they explained that we should give him food or water if he asked, but not give if he did not ask. The next day he was in a coma. the hospice nurse came by and gave me items for final care. One item was morphine which she said I could give if he appeared to be in pain. He died in 6 days without ever exhibiting any distress, and the nurse picked up the morphine from me.
I hope that the people caring for Shivo’s final days had similar means to reduce distress if it occurred. A friend who was slowly dying of cancer contacted people to say she was going to stop eating and drinking any more and was soon dead. I don’t know what immediate care she had during that process, but it was her choice. I am just glad my mother and husband did not have something very painful like cancer or I might not have been able to give them their wish to die at home.