YP Letters: Hospital scandal highlights distress of end-of-life care

From: Mike Smith, Birkby, Huddersfield.
Ann Reeves (right,) the daughter of Elsie Devine who died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, and the families of other victims speak to the media outside Portsmouth Cathedral after the disclosure of the Gosport Independent Panel's report.Ann Reeves (right,) the daughter of Elsie Devine who died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, and the families of other victims speak to the media outside Portsmouth Cathedral after the disclosure of the Gosport Independent Panel's report.
Ann Reeves (right,) the daughter of Elsie Devine who died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, and the families of other victims speak to the media outside Portsmouth Cathedral after the disclosure of the Gosport Independent Panel's report.

ANYONE reading Arthur Quarmby’s letter and other reports on the Gosport Hospital affair could be forgiven for thinking it bordered upon mass murder (The Yorkshire Post, 
July 2).

He refers to having feelings of compassion for those whose loved ones’ lives were ‘terminated’ and states that those responsible should be punished. He presumably means Dr Jane Barton and others.

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The irony of the Gosport affair is that Parliament and the legal profession are the real culprits by failing to address the ‘end of life’ legalisation issue. A prime example of that are the three High Court judges who have just condemned Noel Conway to pain and misery for the remainder of his life against his own wishes (The Yorkshire Post, June 28).

It might be expected their decision results in further mental distress to his family and considerable expense to both his family and the NHS for as long as he lives.

Statistically, there must be thousands of elderly people who would welcome early release from a life that has ceased to have any further meaning for them.

Meanwhile they are draining precious resources from areas of the NHS which are constantly complaining about under-funding and, most particularly, those involving the care of the elderly.

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Mr Quarmby concludes by hoping similar practices to the Gosport experience are not being employed elsewhere in the NHS. They most certainly are, but rarely spoken of because of legal implications. What is needed is a change in the law that allows the patient to have termination on request but with obvious safeguards for those unable to make that decision. It would also remove the burden of judgement from the medical profession and any potential legal action against them.

From: Hugh Rogers, Messingham Road, Ashby.

WHY is so much time, energy and expense being wasted on “celebrating” the 70th anniversary of the NHS?

Are those making such a 
fuss unsure whether this poorly-run, hugely-expensive nationalised industry will actually make it to a more noteworthy anniversary?

Why couldn’t we have waited for its centenary?

After all, the 70th birthday 
of the RAF (without whose wartime efforts there would have been no NHS anyway) came and went, and seemingly without comment from the chattering classes.