Scan barcode
thereadingparamedic's review
5.0
As a paramedic, I see elderly patients regularly and often deal with death. When called to an elderly patient in cardiac arrest, it can be difficult to discuss with family what their wishes were - did they wish to be resuscitated? Do they have a DNACPR form, advising us not to attempt resuscitation?
Although death & getting older can be difficult to talk about, we should be having these conversations so that we can respect the wishes of our loved ones. Having legal documentation in place can take away the need for families to make difficult decisions at an extremely upsetting time.
The Book About Getting Older discusses the treatment of older people both in hospital & in the community, what is the right thing to do for elderly people. It quickly recaps on DNACPRs, mental capacity and advance plans. It is an excellent resource for both medical professionals & those who look after elderly relatives.
Buy it & get the conversation going!
Although death & getting older can be difficult to talk about, we should be having these conversations so that we can respect the wishes of our loved ones. Having legal documentation in place can take away the need for families to make difficult decisions at an extremely upsetting time.
The Book About Getting Older discusses the treatment of older people both in hospital & in the community, what is the right thing to do for elderly people. It quickly recaps on DNACPRs, mental capacity and advance plans. It is an excellent resource for both medical professionals & those who look after elderly relatives.
Buy it & get the conversation going!
spacecars's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
kiwi_fruit's review
4.0
In this book, there is a lot of information that specifically relates to the UK, i.e. their health system processes and legal system (e.g. privacy and power of attorney) details. Despite the fact that these sections were not valid for my country (I’ll also add that the UK focus is not clear from the book blurb), I found this book helpful and, generally speaking, an excellent source of info.
When the times comes, I wish that my loved ones and indeed myself would have someone as compassionate and sensible like Dr Pollock to talk to about the challenges of old age and to discuss the delicate options relating to end-of-life care.
I would highly recommend this book to older readers, obviously, but also to the younger audience who are concerned about the care of their elderly loved ones.
Fav Quotes:
However we cut it, life in old age would appear to have become more difficult for many people. Dodging the conditions that kill us means we must live with those that make life hard.
So, the next thing we need after time is honesty. Doctors need to be honest about the limitations of our knowledge about what works and what doesn’t in people who are older, and especially in those who are frail and have several conditions and maybe do not have very long to live. Doctors need to be honest about the fact that reducing the risk of one condition may not lengthen life, but will simply exchange one cause of death for another. We must be honest about the fact that many medications probably aren’t making a great deal of difference. But patients and their families need to be honest too about what they feel about their medicines. We all need to be able to talk together about the purpose of medicines, and that means being honest that for many of my patients their hope may not be simply to lengthen an already long life, but rather to improve and preserve its quality.
I do not accept – I do not think most of us believe – that older people are simply some inconvenient ‘other’ to be locked away. When we pause for a moment we recognize that older people are people right now, and ourselves tomorrow.
When the times comes, I wish that my loved ones and indeed myself would have someone as compassionate and sensible like Dr Pollock to talk to about the challenges of old age and to discuss the delicate options relating to end-of-life care.
I would highly recommend this book to older readers, obviously, but also to the younger audience who are concerned about the care of their elderly loved ones.
Fav Quotes:
However we cut it, life in old age would appear to have become more difficult for many people. Dodging the conditions that kill us means we must live with those that make life hard.
So, the next thing we need after time is honesty. Doctors need to be honest about the limitations of our knowledge about what works and what doesn’t in people who are older, and especially in those who are frail and have several conditions and maybe do not have very long to live. Doctors need to be honest about the fact that reducing the risk of one condition may not lengthen life, but will simply exchange one cause of death for another. We must be honest about the fact that many medications probably aren’t making a great deal of difference. But patients and their families need to be honest too about what they feel about their medicines. We all need to be able to talk together about the purpose of medicines, and that means being honest that for many of my patients their hope may not be simply to lengthen an already long life, but rather to improve and preserve its quality.
I do not accept – I do not think most of us believe – that older people are simply some inconvenient ‘other’ to be locked away. When we pause for a moment we recognize that older people are people right now, and ourselves tomorrow.