Pressuring Mrs Thomas to accept treatment: a case history.

A general practitioner (GP) recounts events which unfolded after visiting a patient at home. She was found to be suffering from an entirely curable clinical condition which was worsening as a result of refusal to accept effective medical treatment. The effects upon a grown-up son of the patient's refusal, and the increasing burden of care falling upon local district nursing services, were factors which influenced the GP's thinking and decision making.