The right to information for the terminally ill patient.

OBJECTIVES To analyse the attitudes of medical personnel towards terminally ill patients and their right to be fully informed. DESIGN Self-administered questionnaire composed of 56 closed questions. SETTING Three general hospitals and eleven health centres in Granada (Spain). The sample comprised 168 doctors and 207 nurses. RESULTS A high percentage of medical personnel (24.1%) do not think that informing the terminally ill would help them face their illness with greater serenity. Eighty-four per cent think the patient's own home is the best place to die: 8.9% of the subjects questioned state that the would not like to be informed of an incurable illness. CONCLUSION In our opinion any information given should depend on the patient's personality, the stage of the illness and family circumstances. Our study confirms that a hospital is not the ideal environment for attending to the needs of the terminally ill and their families.