Ethical and Legal Dilemma

Abstract

This template discusses the problems that the aging group of people faces. These groups of individuals are prone to diseases just like infants, and they also have to be taken care of just like infants to increase their life span. There are recommendations and suggestions to take care of them. Some of the strategies discussed under this template include; living wills, conflicts of interest, rights of families, nursing care, Euthanasia, pain management, withdrawing treatment, withholding treatment, and many more. The newly appointed Hospice care manager is the one who gives these suggestions.

An aging population is a group of people aged 65 and above (Yang et al., 2013). Children and grandchildren are responsible for taking care of their parents and grandparents aged 65 and above; they are prone to dangerous diseases like diabetes, skin problems, Urinary tract infections, and many more. This group of people mainly comprises retirement communities. Individuals in this group need to be taken care of keenly. There should be guidelines, policies, and procedures to ensure that these people are well treated. I have come up with recommendations related to care issues that affect the elderly population. These recommendations include; Patients who are not abandoned, patients who have access to high-quality palliative and end-of-life care, conflicts of interest, and living skills are all factors to consider.

Non-abandonment of patients

Abandonment is a form of abusing patients. Most aging people face this abandonment issue because people who are supposed to take care of them have assumed the responsibilities of taking care of these people, but then the abused individuals are deserted. Some of these victims may fail to seek assistance from people they depend on because they feel ashamed of needing help because of the previous denial.

Some of the strategies I came up with to solve elderly abuse include; keeping elders engaged in their communities, giving financial assistance, and keeping them active. Elders can engage in communities by allowing them to tell their life history, among other exciting stories, making them feel valued. It is good to give financial assistance to these individuals for upkeep; even if they have everything they need, it is good for them to hold money in their hands, significantly cash; this will improve their psychology (Ruberton et al., 2016). Keeping aging people active involves keeping them engaged by being around them and having some fun stories with them, and this is essential for their health.

Access to high-quality life care services

It is always advisable to be keen on palliative care because it leads to en of life care, but it is better to treat all of them seriously. Palliative care is a short-term condition, while end of life care happens when one is about to die. My recommendation strategy for the above quality care is to ensure that Hospice care has all ICU facilities for any emergency. All patients need to be treated by doctors equally, and priority is given in the order of first come, first serve, apart from those whose health conditions are adverse.

Conflicts of Interest

From the principle of conflict theory, groups in society compete against each other for scarce resources (Ogura & Jakovljevic, 2018). Most aging people tend to have wealth that the next generation will inherit; sometimes, there is a conflict between the individuals to inherit this. Unfortunately, occasionally aged people get involved in such situations. The best way to avoid these societal issues is by encouraging the expected individuals to be patient about their wealth. Advising the aged not to disclose their next of kin details to their children and grandchildren is another way to avoid conflict of interest.

Living wills

Sometimes, when one is receiving end-of-life care, they may be unable to speak, and it becomes difficult for them to express how they want doctors to treat them. My suggestion to curb this issue is to advise all the individuals to write a living will on how they would like doctors to treat them if they cannot express themselves. For instance, one might direct that doctors give them health care facilities to relieve their pain and allow them to be comfortable even when the health care will shorten their lives. Also, I will make sure that doctors do not abandon the living will and keep their records safe for individuals who have already written their living will.

Rights of families and nursing care

All aging groups of people have the right to families and get nursing care. I suggest that all the family members of these people should prioritize making sure their health condition is well. These people have dot right to advise any of their family members. Conversely, nursing care is a critical thing for this group of people. They have to visit Hospice care frequently to ensure they are not prone to any risk of contracting any disease.

Home healthcare services

People in aging brackets who feel like their condition is good do not have to visit our healthcare facilities; instead, Hospice care will send some nurses to their respective homes to ensues these patients are okay. It is crucial to have home healthcare as it helps some patients from contracting diseases that they are exposed to while in hospital (Davis & Kotowski, 2015). Home healthcare services are essential to an individual as nurses do the treatment in the comfort of their home, and it is also cheap.

Retirement communities

Most retired individuals are of an aging population. Most of them receive pensions; my advice is to ask them to get health insurance in case of any health emergency; there should not be an issue of raising some money for treatment. As Estes (2014) asserts, the aging population is prone to many diseases; just like infants, it is good to have health insurance coverage. Retired individuals should therefore sacrifice their little pension for the health insurance cover.

I also give some brief recommendations to adopt in the following areas.

Delivered services, aging group of people need not struggle too much, some of the services like delivery of drugs they need to seek them at the comfort of their compound, I recommend Hospice care deliver these needs to them.
Rehabilitation and therapy facilities: Some older people are addicted to drugs that are harmful to their health. I recommend that they come and seek the therapy and rehabilitation facilities from Hospice care because we care.
In memory care services, I direct home nursing care for people with memory issues because it is a long-term issue; there is no need for patients to overstay and cause congestion in the hospital.
In assisted living facilities, for patients who do not require home-care facilities, I advise them to visit the Hospice care so that we provide them with living facilities. The hospital has a plan to increase assisted living facilities.
Euthanasia, I discourage Euthanasia because that is not the only solution one can do to solve the problem they are going through. Hospice care has to employ guiding and canceling people in plenty to assist in this case.
In pain management, I direct the individuals who require pain management. Hospice care will give them pain medicines, physical therapies, and psychological therapies.
Withdrawing treatment, treatment shall be removed when the patient is dead. I recommend the discouragement of starting treatment when the patient is still alive, but when the situation comes, I will have to sign the agreement with the patient to avoid the blame from the hospital.
Withholding treatment, when the patient and the family have agreed to withhold treatments for their reasons, I will allow them to sign the agreement if there is evidence before the court.

In summary, people within the aging brackets are prone to death and need care. There are some ways to prevent them from the risk of death, and these ways are; to avoid abandoning these people since they sometimes fear to ask support from people they depend on to provide them with what they want. Aging people have access to high-quality health care; nurses need to watch analgesia keenly because it may result to end of life care. The older people must not be involved in a conflict of interest; I advise them not to disclose the details containing their preferred next of kin. I suggest this particular group of individuals write their living wills to help them get treated how they want. They have the rights of families; they also require nursing care and home health services. Retirement communities have to sacrifice their little pension for health insurance cover. Since older people cannot struggle too much, Hospice care provides them with delivered services such as drugs. Hospice care gives drug addicts rehabilitation and therapy facilities. Hospice care has to provide home care services for individuals with memory issues. Hospice care offers aging with assisted living facilities for those who do not require home care. I discourage Euthanasia because it is the solution to life. Pain management drugs and therapies are provided by the hospital as well. Withdrawing treatment and withholding treatment, I will ensure the victims sign the documents for terminating their treatment.

References

Yang, D., Timmermans, H., & Grigolon, A. (2013). Exploring heterogeneity in travel time expenditure of aging populations in the Netherlands: results of a CHAID analysis. Journal of Transport Geography, 33, 170-179.

Ruberton, P. M., Gladstone, J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2016). How your bank balance buys happiness: The importance of “cash on hand” to life satisfaction. Emotion, 16(5), 575.

Ogura, S., & Jakovljevic, M. M. (2018). Global population aging-health care, social and economic consequences. Frontiers in public health, 335.

Davis, K. G., & Kotowski, S. E. (2015). Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders for nurses in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health care: a comprehensive review. Human factors, 57(5), 754-792.

Estes, C. (2014). The future of aging services in a neoliberal political economy. Generations, 38(2), 94-100.

Ethical and Legal Dilemma

Abstract