Bet you never thought there’d be a day your own life
Would be others’, and no longer be your own
Nor your family’s, try as they might, your husband, son, wife,
To protect you from actions you would not condone

Is that not something you’d associate with crime,
And not the NHS you turn to, if you knew
You’d not be done by as you’d do yourself to others,
But have withdrawn the medical help to pull you through?

For at your point of entry to hospital premises,
Once you set foot inside, step over their threshold,
Should anything go wrong, and wits elude you
(Or already have, especially the old)

Your freedom’s forfeit, you fall prey to the authorities,
Like you’re in prison, they have full sway over your fate,
They can block, withhold or stop your clinical treatment
Should your illness or condition not abate

As quickly as they’d like, or take a ‘downturn’,
Long as they ‘feel(!)’ they know the outcome that will follow;
It’s in ‘best interests’ not to grant ‘A, B or C’, or ‘X, Y, Z’;
This could happen to yours, to you, to me, tomorrow

This is done hundreds of times across the country
Each day, decisions aren’t dependent on the courts
As in a handful of the most publicised cases;
They’re made in minutes, on the spot, the self same sorts

And they’ll eye you up for this, but never tell you
That this is what they can, or might, or will, go on to do;
So home was not an option that you got to,
When it was one that could have nevertheless saved you

You’ll never understand how the one element
Of this process fits together, page by page,
With the others, but I know what to watch out for –
‘Do Not Attempt Resuscitation’s the key stage

So be warned, all’s very well if you recover,
You’ll view it as a treasure, it’s a jewel;
But it’s a very different matter if you don’t fit;
Our NHS can be a dark place, sinister, cruel