A morbid reason for consent
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Murray-Brown, Fay; Davies, Llion
- Source
- BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. Sep 01, 2014 4(3):303-305
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2045-435X
We report the case of a recently bereaved elderly lady admitted on the acute surgical take who gave consent for emergency surgery in the hope of dying intraoperatively. To her dismay she survived and, thereafter, refused all food and medical intervention leading to her death 15 days later. This case highlights concerns regarding both the process of consent following emergency admission and failure to identify a vulnerable patientʼs wishes.