Uncle refusing to eat - says he may be sectioned?

zaksmum

My uncle's 76 and in hospital. He complained of pain so severe as to leave him unable to walk, but tests have all been clear. He's eaten virtually nothing for the last 2 weeks, saying he's not hungry.

Doctors want to insert a feeding tube but he won't allow them to. He now says one doctor claims he can be sectioned, and forced to have the feeding tube. He won't allow us to speak to medical staff about this.

I'm not asking for medical advice - but is it correct that he could be sectioned and force fed?

I just realised I put this in the wrong section and will put it in Families and Relationships

sjc3

I think the best people to advise will be the medical staff caring for him. You are obviously a concerned relative and want the best for your uncle. It is not normal for someone to refuse food for so long. He must be in a terrible state of mind. The medics wont do anything unlawful and it is best to know where you and your uncle stand if he continues to refuse treatment.

I am so sorry for all concerned. It must be a terrible worry. I hope your uncle will start to accept treatment and be better as soon as possible.

Torry_Quine

If they feel his lack of eating is as the result of a mental health problem which is putting his life in danger then yes they can section him. However this would be a last resort and should be for as short a period as possible.

If at all possible someone needs to speak to the medical staff to get the full story.

I hope that things improve for him.

elsien

It is possible under some circumstances - I've read where people with anorexia are sectioned and force fed.

However anorexia is a mental illnes - I think a 76 year old man who in all other ways appears competent to make his own decisions (if it is just eating that is the problem) is a whole different ball game, so it really isn't that clear cut.
My uncle in his seventies was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer and refused to eat - he was not force fed, his choice was respected.
I would guess it very much depends on individual circumstances, but I think it would be unlikely unless there's other mental health issues going on.

rogerblack

zaksmum wrote: »

My uncle's 76 and in hospital. He complained of pain so severe as to leave him unable to walk, but tests have all been clear. He's eaten virtually nothing for the last 2 weeks, saying he's not hungry.

Have you considered that the hospital food may not be to his taste - and combined with the pain, he finds it difficult to eat it?

Might a special diet help? Home-cooked stuff?
Perhaps even visiting, and encouraging him to eat?

Oldernotwiser

Perhaps you should help him to get a second opinion as well as being concerned about his eating. The hospital is obviously not helping him at the moment.

hippygran

My dad refused to eat at all for a period of about 3 weeks following his stroke. He lost over 2 stone! He was 71.

He was very mentally confused at the time but it was also a lot to do with being bed-bound and toileting. He hated using a bed pan, and was only partially continent, so in his mind, no input = no output!.

He had difficulty swallowing, so the food refusal wasn't ringing alarms at first, but then he wouldn't even take fluids.

They did attempt to gain his permission to insert a tube, but by this time he was in no way mentally competent enough to give any kind of consent. They didn't over-press it, and certainly never mentioned forcing it on him.

The hospital food was abysmal though, and I wouldn't have touched it either!

The hospital suggested that we tried to bring him his 'favourite treats' in (soft stuff only), which we did. It was hard work (because the stroke had affected his taste buds)- he seemed to like completely different foods, a man who had never eaten anything but savory food suddenly developed an extremely sweet tooth!

We took him in any soft food we could think he would even try - jelly, trifle, you name it, the sweeter the better! He ate like that for about 3 weeks for breakfast, dinner and tea! I think he accepted the food off me (I had to do it, every meal) - just because he knew I had made it all 'specially'. Then I started slipping in the odd bit of soft, savoury food and he started to gain weight.

He then started 'ordering' his next meal! (Although because of the dementia - he usually had forgotten what he had asked for when it arrived).

Perhaps you could ask the staff if you could do something similar?

janeawej

I found with my mum who had dementia and wouldnt eat that despite her lifelong aversion to sweet food, she would only eat sweet food for the weeks before her demise, I started off with putting chocolate buttons in her mouth as they disolved and she didnt have to chew or swallow, (it did take time and patience to feed someone these!) then she progressed onto yogurts, and other sweet 'slimy' foods and her desire for food grew again once she had started to eat.