Reverend Dr. David Bruce:

I want to make a quick comment about protocols and the texture of the palliative care that is offered. Anecdotally, my own father was in the situation where he had a stroke. He was debilitated and in the latter stages of his life. I was in a position of refereeing a conversation between various interests with regard to his final days. It was hugely empowering for me to encounter a registrar on the ward who was able to say, on the basis of protocols that she was implementing, that a particular course of action that would have accelerated my father's demise was unethical. I hugely admired her courage in being able to say that but was hugely grateful for the fact that protocols originally based on the Liverpool care pathway were being implemented by her in a compassionate and caring way. It gave her a framework to respond wisely and well to a family in distress. I simply want to point out the importance of a structured set of protocols that are constantly evolving, changing and improving as technology advances, and as we learn our way through this practice of palliative care. From a pastoral point of view and being at the receiving end as a family member, I am simply pointing out that this was a huge blessing to us.

My colleague Dr. Stevenson would like to say something about the slippery slope argument because it has been referenced several times in the discussion.