title: Conscientious care for the unconscious patient: new guidance from the Royal College of Physicians.
abstract: Patients who remain unconscious and unaware after a brain insult challenge healthcare. Clinicians are faced with a clinical situation often outside their usual experience. Organisations are faced with practical issues concerning resource use. And people, especially family and friends, are faced with moral, legal and philosophical questions that have no easy answers. This conference launched national guidelines that should assist clinical teams and organisations, and should ensure that all patients and families receive a good quality service.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Enablement, Oxford, UK derick.wade@ouh.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Derick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wade
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D005791:Patient Care / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014474:Unconsciousness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Unconscious patient; brain insult; national guidelines