HAMPSHIRE patients are to have the opportunity to choose the treatment they would like to receive in case of medical emergency.

The Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Andover War Memorial Hospital, has launched a new scheme which gives patients the chance to express a choice about the treatment they would like or would not like to receive by doctors and paramedics in case of a medical emergency.

The scheme can be for anyone but is particularly aimed at those with complex health needs, people who are likely to be nearing the end of their lives and those who are at risk of sudden deterioration or cardiac arrest.

The project, called ReSPECT, allows residents to draw up a plan with their doctors and outline the care and treatments they would like to receive.

This will enable doctors to make a quick decision about treatments and care in case of emergency.

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working with our partners at South Central Ambulance Service, in primary care and in nursing and residential homes to implement the ReSPECT process.

“ReSPECT will help to ensure that patients receive the treatment that is right for them and make it easier for healthcare professionals to make the most appropriate decisions in an emergency situation.”

The trust will be working along with South Central Ambulance Service, GPs, community teams and nursing and residential homes to implement the national process.

The scheme has also been welcomed and supported by Alton resident Roy Ford, after he had the opportunity to decide what he thought it would be the best treatment for his wife Janet.

She was suffering with liver and pancreatic cancer and when her conditions got worse in the morning of April 19, 2017, Mr Ford and the ambulance crew decided that a journey to the hospital would not benefit her and within few hours appropriate care were set up, allowing Janet, 79, to spend her final days at home, with her family close by, where she passed away just a week later.

Now Roy said: “Thinking about the treatment you would and would not like to receive in a medical emergency is incredibly important, not just for you, but for your family too.

“We had never talked much about what we might like to have happen at the end of our lives. It was luck and compassion that meant the ambulance crew made the decision for Janet to stay at home. Had Janet thought about this in advance, I know that that is what she would have wanted.”

Those who would like to draw up a plan can speak to their GP or the consultant in charge of their care.

l What do you think?

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