End of life… What does the patient want?

There are many difficult decisions for families to make in the final stages of a person’s life. Decisions are even tougher if your loved one deteriorates quickly and has not given clear direction of their wishes. Once you add the intensity and stress of an unfamiliar place, unfamiliar medical terminology and updating other family members, even simple decisions can seem extremely tough.

Medical technology has grown considerably over the past 100 years allowing for hospitals to maintain life for a longer period of time. Ventilators, life sustaining medications, procedures and expert staff all play an integral part in ensuring that patients receive the treatments needed to keep them alive. The combination of events, options, and the drive for staff and families in maintaining life can move treatments beyond the wishes of the patient.

It is important for families and healthcare providers to maintain a specific point of view… What are the patient wishes? Some patients want everything done, including invasive procedures and all life sustaining medications. However, as people age and become more comfortable with the thought of death, their wishes often change and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), ventilation, or other procedures may not be wanted. There is also the possibility of organ or tissue donation, and at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance we have increased our processes to ensure that patients can donate their organs if they wish.

It is important to have the discussion with your family members before these difficult decisions have to be made, to ensure that you or your loved ones receive the treatments that fall within your or their planned life’s path. Our goal is to give the care that is best for you, and clear direction in the beginning helps us to ensure that all your wishes are met.