All older people should receive equal access to appropriate treatment options guided by the HSE’a published ethical guidelines.
The Alliance of Age Sector NGOs made the call in a statement on Sat, April 18th.
“Age alone should never be a barrier to realising one’s right to health. In its position adopted on 3rd April 2020, Alzheimer Europe considers it unacceptable to systematically restrict access to ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic to people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, or people living in nursing homes”, they wrote.
“The principle of fairness ensures that equity and appropriate clinical responses are of the highest standards and will apply to people of all ages including our older citizens during this crisis (Ethical Framework for Decision-Making in a Pandemic (Department of Health 2020))”.
The Alliance went on to make four specific points to Government: that all necessary resources to be available to support nursing home staff during this crisis; to uphold the principles of advanced care and end of life planning which place the wishes and preferences of each resident at the centre of the care and treatment provided; that each person who does test positive and requires treatment should be assessed individually and appropriate treatment options provided, based on their wishes and in line with clinically appropriate medical interventions; and, to explore ways that families might be present with older people as they die in hospitals and nursing homes.
