Patients 'should not expect NHS to save their life if it costs too much'

Patients 'should not expect NHS to save their life if it costs too
much'
The NHS should not always attempt to save someone's life if the cost
is too much, the medical regulator has ruled

By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor
Last Updated: 8:58PM BST 12 Aug 2008

Doctors have also criticised the ruling and would be opposed to
ignoring a rule of rescue when it introduces a degree of flexibility
around extreme cases Photo: IAN JONES
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Guidelines (Nice) has
ruled for the first time that saving a life cannot be justified at any
cost, in a review of its ethical guidelines.

The ruling - made by the board of the controversial organisation -
contradicts advice it received from its own 'Citizens Council' which
offers advice from a representative sample of the general public.

Nice is facing growing criticism over the number of drugs it is now
rejecting which are available throughout Europe and in America. Last
week, it refused to sanction four kidney cancer drugs which can double
life expectancy.

It has now rejected the so-called "rule of rescue" which stipulates
that people facing death should be treated regardless of the costs.
The rule is based on the natural impulse to aid individuals in
trouble.

In a report on "social values judgement" the regulator says: "There is
a powerful human impulse, known as the 'rule of rescue', to attempt to
help an identifiable person whose life is in danger, no matter how
much it costs. When there are limited resources for healthcare,
applying the 'rule of rescue' may mean that other people will not be
able to have the care or treatment they need.

"Nice recognises that when it is making its decisions it should
consider the needs of present and future patients of the NHS who are
anonymous and who do not necessarily have people to argue their case
on their behalf…The Institute has not therefore adopted an additional
'rule of rescue'."

The ruling contradicts the advice of Nice's Citizens Council, which
said that a rule of rescue was an essential mark of a humane society.
The report said that where individuals are in "desperate and
exceptional circumstances" they should sometimes receive greater help
than can be justified by a "purely utilitarian approach".

Doctors have also criticised the ruling. Tony Calland, chairman of the
ethics committee of the British Medical Association, said: "We would
be opposed to ignoring a rule of rescue when it introduces a degree of
flexibility around extreme cases. So what if you waste a few pounds if
you are doing your best for humanity?"

Nice defended its ruling last night saying that the Citizens Council
provided useful input to its decisions but that the organisation's
role was to determine how best to allocate the health service's
limited resources.

Nice is facing increasing accusations that it is giving undue weight
to financial considerations - rather than medical benefits - when
making decisions on whether to allow drugs or other treatments on the
NHS. Doctors and patients have alleged that they are treated with
contempt by the organisation and that life-saving drugs are being
unfairly denied.

The Daily Telegraph disclosed yesterday that Nice is preparing to
offer patients advice on the medical benefits of drugs that are not
available on the NHS. The disclosure is likely to anger patients who
face paying tens of thousands of pounds for expensive drugs which may
prolong their lives.

===========

Socialized medicine puts a price on human life.
Abortion, Euthanasia and rationing are the only
means medical system bureaucrats have for
keeping the Marxist system viable in the short term.
Oh, I forgot another bureaucratic trick, delay. If
treatment is delayed long enough the patient will
die thus saving the expenses the system promised
the fools that elected a government run medical
system.

Of course, the wealthy and famous need not worry
about getting the medical attention they want.
.

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