Patients are to be given the opportunity to discuss in advance what treatment and care they want towards the end of their life under new guidance by the General Medical Council.

The guidance also covers decisions involving premature babies and infants.

Lady Christine Eames, chair of the GMC working group on End of Life Decision, and Dr John Jenkins, a member of the GMC Council and consultant paediatrician at Antrim Hospital, consider how the new guidelines will affect patient care.

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