Congratulations to the Listener for explaining the need for everyone to set up an effective advance directive while we are still mentally competent (“Stroke of courage”, February 25).
Unfortunately, the claim by the Health and Disability Commissioner’s Office that they have received only five complaints over the past eight years is highly misleading, as the End-of-Life Choice Society regularly hears of situations where a patient’s requests have been ignored or not seen by their medical team.
As your article points out, the inclination to treat and prolong life is deeply embedded in medical practice and custom. The medical profession must understand that the legal and witnessed request contained in an advance directive to minimise futile medical treatment needs to be respected. In addition, a countrywide system for storing and retrieving this information must be urgently developed.
Dying is part of living but we rarely think about death, especially our own, until we must. Indeed, discussing this topic with loved ones well in advance is a good way to open healthy dialogue and mutual understanding.
The message here is to develop your own advance directive, get an articulate agent to speak for you when you cannot, and ensure that your plan is registered with your GP.
Dr Mary Panko
Past-president, End-of-Life Choice Society
Louise Duffy’s recounting of her mother’s prolonged dying describes perfectly the situation in which I found myself in 2018. My beloved husband, Malcolm, was admitted to hospital gravely unwell and already weakened by terminal, untreatable chronic
