tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post116301612636263770..comments2024-03-05T00:59:35.390+08:00Comments on Angry Doctor: You can live with dignity...angry dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03132410467147982699noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-32374555981336870222012-04-06T18:54:04.520+08:002012-04-06T18:54:04.520+08:00Certainly dignity was never one of my key concerns...Certainly dignity was never one of my key concerns. Suffering is. Why hasn't Dr. Angry addressed the possibility that the AMD can be used to end suffering in terminally-ill patients instead of prolonging it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1163126862799520922006-11-10T10:47:00.000+08:002006-11-10T10:47:00.000+08:00Interestingly,how MANY MPs have signed the AMD?how...Interestingly,<BR/><BR/>how MANY MPs have signed the AMD?<BR/><BR/>how MANY doctors have signed the AMD?<BR/><BR/>how MANY nurses have signed the AMD?<BR/><BR/>how MANY of the MOH people involved in the AMD marketing project have signed the AMD?<BR/><BR/>Instead of going dancing hip-hop.....they should find better things to "walk the talk" :)<BR/><BR/>Nevertheless I agree that more should be done to discuss about death and options. But I see they may be reading this blog? Morning headlines on Today paper! lol!Dr Oz blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876294124443628182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1163066104641717362006-11-09T17:55:00.000+08:002006-11-09T17:55:00.000+08:00I suppose the 'marketing' campaign is what is maki...I suppose the 'marketing' campaign is what is making me uncomfortable. <BR/><BR/>The Ministry purports to want to encourage discussion on end-of-life issues, but it seems that they have already decided that the AMD in its current form is a good thing, and that there "should be having hundreds of thousands of people signing on", as if it's 'sales targets' we are hoping to achieve rather than intelligent discussion. <BR/><BR/>Several letters published in the media bring terms like 'choice' and 'dying with dignity' into the discussion, and the danger here is that people will assume that signing AMD in its current form equates with choice and dignity without having thought the premises through themselves.<BR/><BR/>I think if we as a society are serious about looking at end-of-life legislation, we should look at what are the choices we want available for ourselves and see if the current AMD allows for them, or if there is a need to amend the legislation, rather than to encourage people to sign the AMD here and now before the discussion is even started.angry dochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03132410467147982699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1163038045912711602006-11-09T10:07:00.000+08:002006-11-09T10:07:00.000+08:00I think the point angrydoc (correct me if I am wro...I think the point angrydoc (correct me if I am wrong) is trying to make is that we doctors know all along what this AMD is really about.<BR/><BR/>As doctors we have been and are still advising patients and their relatives on what course of medical treatment to take and to what degree and extent it should be. Why? Because we see death on a regular basis in the wards. We know what dying is like. We know when it is time to let God take over. We know what the cost is and how that would be significant to the family on a practical basis.<BR/><BR/>And we know that there are many people who do not understand death. And when the time comes, they make irrational emotional decisions and understandably so. <BR/><BR/>And frankly signing an AMD in ignorance and misconception about what death is would NOT solve the problem of people not understanding death.<BR/><BR/>What it would solve is merely adminsitrative, legal and political burden. <BR/><BR/>What we should be doing is educating people about health care matters. About treatment options. About death. Not about some paper contract you sign!<BR/><BR/>It seems to me there is now a "marketing" drive for the AMD! <BR/><BR/>Am I right?Dr Oz blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876294124443628182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1163019033495380162006-11-09T04:50:00.000+08:002006-11-09T04:50:00.000+08:00It's true that most poeple don't understand what a...It's true that most poeple don't understand what a AMD can and cannot do, and the complications that being human bring to all decisions (fear, guilt, not wanting to let go). The benefit of AMD is to satrt people talking, but it's a small first step. They need to know what questions to ask, the benefit and burden of proposed treatments, they need to know what dying is and how comfort can be maintained, they need to know how comfort will be assured whether or not treatment is decided upon. THey need great communicaiton within the family and with the healthcare team. Too many decisions are based on fear, lack of information and misinformtion as it relates to the dying process, which is why I've just written a simple book to answer fears directly and help people focus on end of life questions and needs, and hopefully not live with the regret I've heard too often in my 30 years as a nurse, which is "if I had only known...."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com