Death with dignity: devising a withdrawal of treatment process.

In 2002, a study was undertaken at St Thomas' Hospital to ascertain whether nurses felt adequately prepared in caring for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) during the withdrawal of treatment (WoT) process (Dean, 2002). The study concluded that nurses on the ICU were unclear of the process and lacked confidence and knowledge of WoT. This study inspired the establishment of a WoT steering group to address the many issues involved in this process.