ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the development of palliative care in the Netherlands. It includes how the guidelines protect and promote the human rights of the patient, and whether it provides sufficient clarity and certainty for both the patient and the healthcare professional. The chapter argues that the guideline is effective in defining palliative sedation as normal medical practice but there are aspects of the Guideline which serve to obfuscate and avoid fully engaging with contentious aspects of the practice. It examines the guidelines on palliative sedation published by the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot bevordering der Geneeskunst (Royal Dutch Medical Association) (KNMG). The legal framework for specialist palliative care in the Netherlands chiefly concentrates on the general practitioner although reference is made to other professions which are closely involved in providing patient care. The KNMG Guideline set out to distinguish palliative sedation from euthanasia through defining palliative sedation as normal medical practice.
