With the rise of diseases such as SARS and bird-flu worrying humanity, scientists and doctors all believe that eventually the world will have to deal with a pandemic or other disaster. Well, several influential physicians, military, and governmental agencies all came together recently to discuss one of the most difficult aspects of pandemic planning: who should die first? The panel was entrusted with the task of deciding who should and who shouldn’t receive care if there aren’t enough beds, doctors, and resources to help all that are sick and injured. The plan designated who should be sacrificed first, asking hospitals to create “triage teams” who will carry out the recommendations and distribute lifesaving care as they see fit.
Who is on the list of “first-to-go” people?
- People older than 85.
- Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings.
- Severely burned patients older than 60.
- Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
- Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes.
Not everyone is on board with these recommendations of course. One public health law expert called it “a political minefield and a legal minefield,” that might violate federal laws against age discrimination and disability discrimination. According to members of the panel however, assembling the list was emotionally difficult as they argued and discussed who would most likely survive and who wouldn’t in the case of a devastating pandemic.
What do you think about this list? It makes sense to us, no matter how unpleasant it is. In the case of limited resources tough decisions will have to be made, and having a definitive plan beforehand could result in saving more lives.
[Yahoo!]
Related Entries:
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
You must log in to post a comment.