The Department of Critical Care Medicine at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow, has prepared a Standard Operating Procedure on ‘End-of-Life Care.’ An awareness workshop will be organised on January 16 to share the SOP with health experts across the state.
The workshop will be held in a hybrid mode (online and offline).
According to the SGPGI, some patients admitted to the ICU suffer from incurable diseases. In such cases, doctors face the question of whether continuing life-sustaining treatment is increasing the patient’s suffering, or whether only palliative care should be considered. The issue of whether it is legally permissible to stop or withdraw life-sustaining treatment is also crucial.
Institute officials say that in 2011, the Supreme Court issued guidelines to legalise passive euthanasia. Later, in 2018, the right to a dignified death was recognised as a fundamental right, but at that time, the process of obtaining judicial approval to stop life-sustaining treatment was complex, making it practically difficult.
According to officials, in January 2023, the Supreme Court simplified the process by giving legal recognition to Advance Medical Directives and the withdrawal/cessation of life-sustaining treatment. Following this, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare constituted a technical resource group to draft guidelines, which were published on the website for public opinion in mid-2024.
Under the new process, at the primary level, a medical board of doctors will certify the futility of treatment, and then the family’s consent will be obtained. Subsequently, a secondary medical board, which will include a member nominated by the CMO’s office, will provide final confirmation. After the necessary documentation and informing the judicial magistrate, life-sustaining treatment can be stopped.
The SGPGI has announced that the institute has developed an SOP for the implementation of ‘end-of-life care,’ which was presented to Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary Amit Ghosh. This workshop is being organised at his direction and will be attended by senior members from various medical institutions across Uttar Pradesh.