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Friday, June 28, 2013

How Often Do People Starve To Death in American Hospitals?

This report from the March 3, 2013 Daily Mail is so shocking that I can't quite believe it:
As many as 1,165 people starved to death in NHS hospitals over the past four years fuelling claims nurses are too busy to feed their patients. 
The Department of Health branded the figures 'unacceptable' and said the number of unannounced inspections by the care watchdog will increase.
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics following a Freedom of Information request, for every patient who dies from malnutrition, four more have dehydration mentioned on their death certificate.
Critics say nurses are too busy to feed patients and often food and drink are placed out of reach of vulnerable people.
In 2011, 43 patients starved to death and 291 died in a state of severe malnutrition, while the number of patients discharged from hospital suffering from malnutrition doubled to 5,558.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287332/Nearly-1-200-people-starved-death-NHS-hospitals-nurses-busy-feed-patients.html#ixzz2XWdPIMdv Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Remember when liberals used to rave about how the U.S. needed something like the National Health Service?
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6 comments:

  1. MarcusJune 28, 2013 at 10:41 AM

    If you are DNR (do not resuscitate) it probably happens fairly often.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Clayton CramerJune 28, 2013 at 11:17 AM

    I thought DNR meant that if you stopped breathing or your heart stops, they don't restart you. I was not aware that DNR meant that they stopped feeding you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Windy WilsonJune 28, 2013 at 12:01 PM

    But this will solve the Social Security problem!

    [/snark]

    ReplyDelete
  4. MarcusJune 28, 2013 at 12:18 PM

    There are a couple levels of DNR. The one I'm thinking of is where you refuse exceptional measures. Exceptional measures include breathing tubes and feeding tubes. If you are moribund and unable to swallow you will die from dehydration or starvation. You will receive comfort measures such as morphine administered sublingually.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MarcusJune 28, 2013 at 12:26 PM

    I said "moribund" but that is not necessarily true either. Remember Terry Schiavo? Her husband, after those court challenges, simply changed her DNR status.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MauserJune 29, 2013 at 2:16 AM

    Well, Obesity IS Epidemic...

    ReplyDelete