20.08.14
DNR question: callous or caring?
Health bodies and district nurses have come under fire after reports that care coordinators are asking patients they have never met before sensitive medical questions, including whether they would agree to a ‘do not resuscitate’ order.
The questionnaires are part of an NHS England scheme to improve care of the elderly in a bid to keep them out of hospital. It is not quite clear why DNR is on the forms.
Peter Carter of the Royal College of Nursing, told the Daily Mail: “I have never heard of anything like it. These questions are usually only asked when the nurse has developed a good and meaningful relationship with the patient. Only then will the nurse begin broaching these difficult subjects.”
Health commentator Roy Lilley added that elderly, frail but otherwise healthy people are being asked, by complete strangers, to sign a form agreeing they shouldn’t be resuscitated.
We agree that the question seems bizarre in a questionnaire that is meant to be about improving care, and should only be asked once a rapport has been established.
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