Some days, or weeks even, I don't seem to do, hear or see anything that I particularly want to blog about but today, I seem to be spoilt for choice. To mention just a few of the items that I thought I might comment on; we have the 100th birthday celebrations of Mother Teresa, the memorial of the Passionist Priest, Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God, the birth of David and Samantha Cameron's daughter, and even the fantastic result in the Spurs Champions League match last night!
But, no, what caught my attention primarily was an item on the BBC News website about the possible influence of faith on doctors in their care of the terminally ill. I would have expected it to be a factor and was surprised that it should be considered 'news' or a surprise to many people.
"Doctors with religious beliefs are less likely to take decisions which could hasten the death of those who are terminally ill . . ." according to a study of nearly 4,000 doctors by London University. Well, good for them!
The article contains some interesting statistics too such as;
"More than 12% of the doctors surveyed described themselves as very or extremely religious, compared with just over 6% of the UK general population . . . However one in five described themselves as very or extremely non-religious, slightly higher than the general population."
"Specialists in the care of the elderly were more likely to be Hindu or Muslim than other doctors, while palliative care doctors were slightly more likely to be white and Christian."
An interesting article and worth a further look here.
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