Abstract
The nursing care given to "demented" people is now clearly written into law. From the gathering of facts about the patient's life history, to the planning of tasks to the drawing up of the care plan we seem to have available all the information about them we need, with the exception of what remains of their human identity in the eyes of their family and the care workers. Thereby a simple comment made during a routine meeting with the son of a patient can throw up a multitude of ethical questions.
