Sarah Russell

While I agree with Professor Singer that saving a lone yachtswoman last week was well worth it (Sunday Age, 8/1/95), I am  concerned that the examples used to support his argument were misleading. One of his examples was an Intensive Care Unit in Melbourne where "many patients who would be…

While it is true that the Victorian Government’s budget cuts have had serious implications for the provision of public health services, it is disappointing that the media has focused most of its attention on critical care services. As most practising health care professionals will confirm, much of the publicity has…

It was misleading for the Alfred Hospital’s spokesperson to suggest that a patient’s “chances would have been better” had an intensive care bed been available. Emergency departments have access to drugs, life-support equipment and competent professionals. It seems likely, therefore, that Mrs Long died as a result of her illness,…

The story of Belinda Hoy reminded me once again of the inequitable distribution of our health resources. After thousands of dollars have been spent providing state of the art medical technologies for 32 days in the Intensive Care Unit, there is a sudden reduction in services for her rehabilitation. We…

While I accept that there are “good moral reasons why self-determining, autonomous people, at the end of their lives and in the face of great suffering should be able to request active help in dying, I do not believe that doctors alone should be given the responsibility to make such…