Sedation at the end of life must not become commonplace

In a post on blog In dignity, not: sleep until death comes by palliative medicine specialist Professor suggests that the so-called palliative sedation of dying patients is no longer a last resort to alleviate unbearable pain and thus an exception seems to be the rule. Rather, so the impression is, the label of a palliative sedation is transferred into an everyday occurrence.

This normality is questionable and blurs the demarcation between euthanizing death. As a non-medical practitioner, I have always understood sedation in the last phase of life in such a way that it is often a (pre-) last possibility to counter painful conditions and symptoms that are difficult to control by bringing about a temporary relaxation. Sedation must be carried out in a controlled manner in such a way that, in principle, the calm state achieved can be converted to a wakeful state at any time.

This intention is important and stands for an attitude that actively deals with the seriously ill person in order to enable or maintain the highest possible awareness of his situation. This attitude takes time and attention. It leaves no room for a time-saving way of dealing with a difficult course of the disease or even a potentially demanding patient.

Where this intention is no longer clearly recognizable, however, the demarcation from active euthanasia is hardly possible and plays into the cards for those who have always said in a simplified manner that active euthanasia and palliative medicine differ only in degrees, which is why the Maltese criticize them Increase in artificial long-term sleep for the dying. And that is precisely why the contribution by Professor Ruchbah, who runs the Maltese Center for Palliative Medicine at the Maltese Hospital Sel. Gerhard in Bonn and the Chair of Palliative Medicine at the University of Bonn is of great importance: He does not allow sedation to become an reflected everyday instrument of a doctor, but should be done with caution and only in the express interest of the patient.