Payout after woman was kept alive against her will

[dutchman]

The family of an 81-year-old woman has received a £45,000 payout after she was kept alive against her will



Brenda Grant made a living will stating she feared degradation and indignity more than death after seeing her mum lose independence through dementia.

But the George Eliot hospital, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, misplaced the document and she was artificially fed for 22 months.

The trust has apologised for its failure.

Mrs Grant, from Nuneaton, had an advance directive drawn up to say if she were no longer of sound mind or had suffered from a list of medical ailments, she should not have treatment to prolong her life.

It also confirmed she should not be given food, but that distressing symptoms should be controlled by pain relief even though the treatment might shorten her life.

The George Eliot Hospital Trust admitted liability and in an out-of-court settlement agreed to pay £45,000.

In a letter, it stated: "It is accepted that the trust failed to act in accordance with the deceased's advance directive and failed to store the advance directive in a way that it could easily be noted."

The trust said it had now begun recording the existence of an advanced directive on the front page of a patient's notes.