Best interest decisions - case study

Supporting information

• You’re working as a Foundation Year 1 (FY1) doctor on a busy part of the elderly ward in Manchester, England. 
• One of the patients under your care is Mrs Sarah Watt.
• Mrs Watt is an 85 year-old lady with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type two diabetes and dementia.
• She was admitted several days ago with pneumonia. She required intravenous antibiotics and has not responded well to treatment. 
• She continues to have an intermittent fever and is breathless at rest.
• Mrs Watt lives in sheltered accommodation where carers visit twice a day to help her dress and make her meals. 
• Her son’s family visited her regularly. 
• Mrs Watt’s short-term memory is very poor. Since contracting the chest infection, she has been increasingly confused. 
• She currently doesn’t have the capacity to make a decision about her treatment.