The government on Friday pledged to increase subsidies for “good death” procedures, while a hospice care foundation unveiled a poll in which 90 percent of respondents aged 50 and above agreed with the concept of natural death.
The Buddhist Lotus Hospice Care Foundation’s poll was held from June to August last year.
Huang Tsung-cheng (黃宗正), chairman of the foundation and National Taiwan University Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, said that while the nation’s average lifespan is 80 years, healthy life expectancy is 73.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
This discrepancy means that an average elderly person spends the last few years of their life suffering, he said.
As one in five people in Taiwan are aged 65 or above, the issue of good death is becoming increasingly important, he added.
Citing the foundation’s poll, he said that while 90 percent of respondents agreed with the concept of natural death, only 15 percent had completed a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) instruction.
The percentage of respondents having an “advanced decision to refuse treatment” (ADRT) statement was even lower, he added.
The poll results highlight a lack of general knowledge about such documents, resulting in a lack of willingness to sign them, he said.
The willingness of the family and the costs involved often play a large part in the decision process, he said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) on Friday said that without an ADRT statement or DNR instruction, hospitals are obligated to perform certain procedures, such as intubation, cardiac compression and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, to resuscitate a person before they are sent to an intensive care unit.
Such procedures often prolong the person’s life for several days but can cost up to NT$500,000, Chiu said.
Such procedures only delay the inevitable and cause unnecessary suffering to the person, he said.
Such procedures occupy emergency medical resources that could be used in other situations, he said.
Signing an ADRT statement requires an Advance Care Planning (ACP) session that is not covered by subsidies or the National Health Insurance (NHI), and hospitals usually charge NT$3,000 to NT$3,500 for consultation, Chiu said.
These costs are a significant factor preventing people from signing an ADRT statement, he said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare allows consultation fees for four main categories of people, including those who are terminally ill, to be covered by the NHI, Chiu said, adding that such incentives have led to an increased percentage of people signing ADRT statements and DNR instructions.
The ministry has asked the National Health Insurance Administration to promote and increase subsidies for ACP sessions to waive emergency medical treatment for people so that they have a dignified passing, he added.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) yesterday authorized the execution of convicted murderer Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), the first death row prisoner to be put to death since President William Lai (賴清德) took office. Huang was to be executed via a firing squad yesterday evening, which would leave Taiwan with 36 convicts on death row. Huang on Oct. 1, 2013, broke into his ex-girlfriend Wang Ping-chih’s (王品智) residence in New Taipei City, where he raped and murdered Wang. He also killed Wang’s mother. Huang was bitter over the breakup and her accusation that he had stolen NT$200,000 (US$6,074) from her bank account, prosecutors said
RSS