The problem of dying - A Relevant Public Health Issue?
This week's editorial in the BMJ deals with the horrors of medically supervised dying. As the first paragraph of the editorial states: "Ask friends about the deaths of their loved ones, and the "bad death" stories crowd out the "good death" ones. Reflections along the lines of "They wouldn't let a dog die like my old Dad died," recur uncomfortably often. This is presumably one of the reasons why public support for legislation to permit assisted dying exceeds 80%. While doctors' attitudes are harder to summarise, there are signs that a majority of UK doctors now favour legalisation of physician assisted suicide with stringent safeguards" This may be a forum in which public health professionals could take a lead, it is much more a community than a medical issue.