“A psychogeriatric consultant, she sees elderly patients who are not getting sufficient pain medication and dying patients who choose to starve as the only way to end their suffering.”
This is the essence of the problem. The restrictive drug laws in America scare the heck out of doctors who want to provide for their pain patients.
I’ve seen doctors in hospitals refuse to give enough pain med to dying folks “because they might die”, and we all know what happens to doctors that provide “too much” narcotics.
The solution is hospice.
I don’t know if Australia has it but this is the solution.
The solution is hospice.
I don’t know if Australia has it but this is the solution.