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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

WRHA report to review end-of-life conflicts

By: Jen Skerritt

Posted: 12/28/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

IT'S been more than two years since Samuel Golubchuk's controversial battle to live his final days on his own terms ignited debate over who gets to decide when someone dies.

The 85-year-old died in Grace Hospital on June 24, 2008, before a court could resolve whether the elderly man's Orthodox Jewish beliefs trump guidelines that give doctors the final say on withdrawing life-support.

A long-awaited report, slated for release next year, may shed light on that question and put to rest how doctors and patients should resolve conflicts over end-of-life care.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is preparing to release its review of Golubchuk's death. The review focused on how officials can better handle disputes between physicians and patients.

Officials launched the review after Golubchuk's eight-month fight to remain alive pitted a patient's right to continue treatment against Winnipeg physicians who argued continuing to care for the elderly man was "tantamount to torture."

It's unclear whether the WRHA report will include new guidelines that supersede existing end-of-life guidelines that give doctors the final say. WRHA officials have remained tight-lipped on details or potential implications of the pending report, saying it is still in the draft stages.

Spokeswoman Kathryn McBurney said the report will be made public in April or May.

"The doctors are not the ones to make the final decision," said Miriam Geller, Golubchuk's daughter.

"It's a human rights issue; they don't have the right to decide for people. Just because somebody happens to be disabled doesn't mean they decide what is right for the person."

Manitoba's medical regulatory body was the first in Canada to introduce guidelines for physicians to follow when dealing with end-of-life issues. They say the minimum goal of life-sustaining treatment is for patients to recover to a level at which they can be aware of themselves, their environment and their existence.

In the event families and physicians don't agree that life support should be withdrawn, doctors have the final say.

Geller isn't optimistic the pending WRHA report will listen to the concerns she and her brother, Percy Golubchuk, raised when they argued their father was still responsive and should be kept alive. Geller said she has not spoken to health officials since their father's death, and the WRHA did not seek her input for its review on how to mediate these disputes.

No patient advocate, ethicist or mediator was brought in to facilitate discussion between physicians and Golubchuk's family.

Geller said she's still angry at how her loved one was treated by the medical system and how their concerns were ignored by medical staff.

"Everything has changed, my whole life has changed," she said. "It still has an impact on us."

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 28, 2010 A6

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