Rationing of health care in Britain: an ethical critique of public policy-making

Journal ArticleIN BRITAIN, as in the United States, rationing of health care is a fact of life and death. Some rationing is overt, such as the Stanford heart transplant program's decision not to accept very young or older patients.1 Some is disguised, such as day-to-day decisions in hospitals about "do not resuscitate" orders2 or the reported British reluctance to offer dialysis to older patients who might be a bit "crumbly."