Advice centre

Three-year-old Matthew was brought to the local A&E department by his mum, Mrs U. She told Dr M, the attending doctor, that Matthew had fallen from a chair three days ago and, although he seemed unharmed at the time, he was now refusing to walk.

Miss G was a 36-year-old medical receptionist who worked in a teaching hospital. She was under the care of a haematologist for chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, diagnosed when she was 13. She had a BMI of 42 and no other relevant past medical history.

Mr B was a 31 year old man with three children. His mother was staying with him over the weekend because he was in bed coughing and shivering.

Patient B, a 70-year-old female, with a history of dementia, stroke and pneumonia, was admitted to the emergency room of a private hospital in a coma. She had advanced lung cancer and was well-known to the physician, Dr Y, who was called to see her.

Patient A, a 57-year-old male, was admitted to the ICU of a private hospital with kidney and liver failure, and in a coma. There was no living will and family members gave a history of long-standing alcohol abuse.