The eurozone crisis and the country's dispiriting political sclerosis offer no prospect of improvement.

But in the past month it had become clear there was no prospect of improvement in the short term.

Stats revealed that millions of workers have seen their wages slip back to 2003 levels, with little prospect of improvement for another decade.

But many of the people reassessed are at an advanced stage with their condition — and often near the end of their life — with little prospect of improvement.

It was reasonable for them to conclude that treatment was not in the patient's best interest, and should therefore be stopped, when there was no prospect of improvement.