Press Release
Response to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics proposed guidelines on treating premature babies
15 November 2006
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) welcomes the proposed advice about treating premature babies. This advice is consistent with the current RCPCH framework for ‘Withholding or Withdrawing Life Sustaining Treatment’ (2004). All treatment should be in the child's best interests and we strongly appreciate Nuffield Council on Bioethics revisiting the difficult issues involved in decision-making at the borderlines of viability.
The report highlights areas of future work and we welcome the recommendation to work with relevant partner organisations on the range of outstanding issues.
Advances in treatment and better knowledge of the outcomes of extremely premature babies all contribute to ethical dilemmas in treatment decision-making. Withholding or withdrawing treatment is one of the most difficult areas of clinical practice. For neonatal paediatricians there are occasionally tragic circumstances in which, jointly with the child's family, we are forced to wrestle with dreadful choices. We therefore welcome any support and guidance that can be given to staff and parents involved in these difficult cases.
We also strongly support the recommendation to provide better services for disabled children and adults.
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