Alfie - What's it all about? - The Right to Life?

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/27/17286168/alfie-evans-toddler-uk-explained

I am sad that this little boy has died. I cannot imagine how his parents & the medics who have looked after him must feel. It is a gut wrenching story for everyone concerned. No one wants a child to be ill & die. I believe that everyone involved in this did what they thought was right at the time.

But - & it is a big but - everyone can get ill, sometimes terminally. We are all on a journey to death, sometimes it is shorter than we wish & sometimes it is painful.

I think there is a danger that we are expecting medics to be miracle workers, not human beings. I also think that some people think that the "right to life" over rides all other considerations.

I speak from experience. My husband fell from a roof onto concrete & was physically injured & in a coma. I would have given anything for him to wake up. But to what? He would, in all probability be permanently seriously mentally & physically disabled. I knew he wouldn't want that & I didn't want that for him. We were going to switch off the machines 12 days after the accident, but he died naturally.

Death is a natural part of life. Just because we are able to prolong life when there is no quality of life or sentient being doesn't mean we should. We need to have a realistic discussion about what is an acceptable care pathway for this sort of situation. And, yes, financial cost does come into the equation. I have no idea how much the care of Alfie & others like him costs now, but in the EU it varied between 1168 euros & 2025 euros a day in a study published in 2012. This represents a high proportion of the total cost of running a hospital.

Resources are limited. Staff are limited. Money is limited. The NHS cannot do everything. What is a life worth? Well, someone has to answer that question. But for every individual like Alfie there will be many other individuals who either aren't treated or have to wait. The level of overspend in UK hospital trusts is mind boggling.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/31/nhs-trusts-england-overspend-3bn-higher-reported-study-claims

Emotions run high in cases like this - understandibly. But when demonstrations stop patients & staff getting into a hospital there is something wrong. When medics are verbally abused on Social Media & face to face, there is something wrong. When the story dominates the press & media with appealing pictures of a sick little boy to deliberately whip up public sentiment & clamour, there is something very wrong.

We need a bit of sanity & realism. What can & should the NHS & Medics do or not do? At what point do we say we cannot do any more based on an informed appraisal of the quality of that life? The conversation needs to be had in a calm & unemotional way - Soon.