Fury over Do Not Resuscitate Notices

Thu,2 April 2020
News Health & Social Care

Disabled people have watched the unfolding stories about disabled and older people being asked to agree to sign Do Not Attempt to Resuscitate Notices with horror over the past few days.

The undervaluing of our lives and the insensitivity of the communications have been breathtaking. The Care Quality Commission and others have now issued guidance, making it clear that there should be no blanket approach to groups of people in relation to advanced care planning.

The Care Quality Commission, British Medical Association, Royal College of General Practitioners and Care Provider Alliance has released a joint statement about DNARs.

The Guardian ran a story on this here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/01/uk-healthcare-regulator-brands-resuscitation-strategy-unacceptable

The CQC has this information on its pages for providers about PPE and more specifically for providers of adult social care.

The clarification on advanced care planning follows criticisms of the Clinical Frailty Scale, which treats people’s need to be supported with daily tasks as a reason to de-prioritise critical care treatment. Revised NICE guidance now makes clear that the Scale should not be used as a decision-making tool with young or disabled people.

DR  UK CEO Kamran Mallick said: “We have been horrified at the undervaluing of our lives and have joined with others to sign a statement, which upholds the principle that the NHS is for all of us and that judgements about our lives should in no way influence the treatment we are entitled to receive.”