BREAKING NEWS: Care homes in the UK caught using death penalty drugs, was this to artificially bump the COVID numbers up?
(thedailybeagle.substack.com)
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This is true. Morphine is used to hasten death. It is not "care".
Yes...when my dad died (Alzheimer's) I questioned the morphine...he was terminal...but the morphine is supposed to help them relax so they more easily pass, which may be true. But morphine can damage the kidneys, which is usually what causes a patient to die...it is vicious cycle...
First of all, you can refuse any medication you wish to refuse in hospice, although COVID patients were not afforded this basic right in hospitals. Second, any and all meds damage the kidneys and liver to some extent. Third, most patients in hospice don't die from medication-induced kidney failure. The normal stages of death are a process of shutting down the body. The extremities are the first to go - feet, hands, legs, arms - you can see the mottling process as the body shuts down support. The next to go are the reproductive and digestive organs, including the intestines, kidneys, liver, pancreas, stomach, etc. This is why patients start refusing food and water, and they start sleeping more. Their bodies stop processing food and water to preserve resources for the heart, lungs, and brain. For non-cancer patients, morphine helps with the pain, anxiety, and shortness of breath with the last stages as the heart, lungs, and finally the brain shut down. For cancer patients, morphine helps to relieve severe and intractable cancer pain. It is administered orally, and the family and the patient are in charge of administration. They can refuse it at any time.
I agree with everything you said and you really have made a great statement concerning the process of death, which I have witnessed several times. I think we were questioning whether morphine could be given in high enough doses to speed up death as opposed to being therapeutic to ease the pain and anxiety during the transition from life to death. But this is really a great comment on the process. My daughter has worked hospice for over 10 years and we have had many good discussions on the process of death and medications used...
My hardest was the death of my beautiful 39 year old sister who died of breast cancer in '92. She looked like the worst concentration camp inmate you could ever imagine...that was hard.
I have seen at least 10 births and I have to say those are usually more joyous occasions. God bless you...have a great day...
Yes, sorry, I meant to address the part about accelerating death and ended up on a tangent. Of course it is possible to overdose and hasten death using morphine, but legitimate practice "should" prevent that. In hospitals or facilities, controlled substances are tightly controlled. The doctor has to order it properly, the pharmacy has to deliver it to the locked cabinet, nurses need to scan it to verify the correct order, administer it, and account for anything they remove from the locked cabinet. Every stage in the process has to verify that the order is correct and the medication/dose/route being given is correct. Nurses are the last line of defense for patient protection from medication errors and they are the ones usually held responsible for them, so they are expected to refuse to administer questionable medication orders. I haven't worked in a facility in several years, so maybe some of that was changed during COVID, and it's also possible that medication dosing guidelines may have been changed amidst the other shenanigans.
My father passed in Nov finally of dementia but also heart disease. He was 85. His death for me was very hard to witness.. but he was dying, and couldn't eat or take fluids at the very end. I allowed him to have some morphine at the very end - he was already mottling and hospice really was kind and helped.
My poor Dad had violent outbursts in his last month. He broke down a door. He pushed a patient out of their bed and destroyed his room. We ultimately had to relent to some psych meds just to keep him contained. I really didn't want him on meds but sometimes you just have to use them. It's all about balance, and using drugs wisely.
It was awful to see him like that...and he too got so thin towards the very end. But I researched the dying process and learned about everything you mentioned above. About a week or so before he died, you couldn't get him to eat or even really take fluids - he'd push it away. I learned that if we forced liquids on him he'd aspirate and suffer more. I guess it's about understanding when someone is "actively dying" vs. not - and that was all new to me. I had to learn about this as it's not something most of us even know about!
I was very grateful for the hospice team - they were incredibly kind and helpful. Thanks for your comment too - it's good for people to know the difference between actively dying and a person who isn't dying.
Thank you. I reserve commenting on the deaths in facilities during COVID, because I've been told there were financial incentives for COVID deaths, and although I hate to think that medical personnel would actively kill someone, I can't say it wasn't done. I found the refusal to allow families to be present and advocate for patients was reprehensible. I was a hospice nurse for several years and found that there are a lot of people who truly believe that hospice nurses are running around killing people with unecessary overdoses of morphine. While I understand that those people may have reasons to believe that, I try to educate people on what in-home hospice care really is.
both my parents died of dementia/alzheimers. At some point they refuse food and medications and become very difficult to arouse. They fade away quickly. In the final stages their bodies tend to stiffen, and any movement was quite painful. Both in hospice and given the order for oral morphine. It was given to keep them out of pain. It is possible it pushed them over the edge, but they were ready to pass, death rattles, etc.
Yes same with my Dad - I just posted my experience above. Same thing - but incredibly hard to witness. hugs
indeed, very difficult.
Yes I agree...but I do not think...no, I know... all cases were not as clear cut as what you or I experienced...
I am telling you...I want to avoid that route of death at ALL costs...it is a horribly tragic way to die...
A terrible death indeed.
There was no time for kidney damage to take place with my parents.
Absolutely not true. People in home hospice use morphine for extended periods of time depending on their condition. Nursing visits them in their homes at least 2-3 times per week and monitors the patient, family, and controlled substance use. When used properly, it provides comfort during the last stages of life, when the body is shutting down but the patient is still aware of pain and shortness of breath. When the body shuts down, the patient feels like they are suffocating and they get anxious and panicked. Morphine helps to slow the respiratory rate, suppress cough reflex, and ease pain and discomfort.
Absolutely true. No one was trying to prolong the lives of my parents so the family could have more time with them. Also, some of these hospice people are absolutely ghoulish. You run in to all kinds.
I’ve heard my dad mention this. When hospice comes in, the person is dead soon. Not comfortable. Dead.
Of course patients in hospice die soon. Only those with a 6-month prognosis are admitted to hospice, and to remain in hospice, they need to show either no improvement or actual decline. Hospice provides in-home care so that dying patients and their families spend their last days together, resolve any past issues, get their affairs in order, etc. They are supported with aides for bathing and personal care, nurses for progress and medication monitoring, social workers, chaplains, and supervising physicians. The patient and family are in charge of medication administration, and they can refuse it at any time. They can revoke hospice any time. Hospice is not assisted euthanasia. There are patients that actually improve on hospice and are then discharged.
Generally Hospice does not accept a pt unless they believe death is imminent, usually less than 6 months I believe. If a pt improves, they are removed from hospice care, so I was told by the hospice people.
Exactly.