Do not resuscitate

Tefal · 21 Apr 2012 at 13:47

Pate said:
Personally with the success rate of CPR, surely it's all slightly academic anyway?

well it's not meant to "succeed", ie revive you, it's meant to stop brain damage long enough for someone to get a defibrillator.

prashantnew · 21 Apr 2012 at 13:55

No, unless it's the legal red sheet that is signed by a Consultant/GP with their GMC number and has the "indefinite" box ticked, and the box ticked that explains why CPR would not be in the patients best interest.

chriscpritchard · 21 Apr 2012 at 13:59

prashantnew said:
No, unless it's the legal red sheet that is signed by a Consultant/GP with their GMC number and has the "indefinite" box ticked, and the box ticked that explains why CPR would not be in the patients best interest.

Or it's a valid advanced directive signed by a patient and non-relative witness who can verify that the patient was of sound mind (and understood the risks/benefits) and therefore had capacity, that mentions the specifics of when life saving treatment can be withheld... thank you Mental Capacity Act for not simplifying everything!

SexyGreyFox · 21 Apr 2012 at 14:10

heeeed said:
Photocopying it in most circumstances isnt needed in fact it would be hard to actually validate it at the most important time

I have to send them to Solicitors in Clinical Negligence cases and to confirm yourself I have never seen one in a Casualty Card and I see 1000s.

Pate said:
Personally with the success rate of CPR, surely it's all slightly academic anyway?

AFAIK the majority of DNARs are in Medical Records and are usually filled in at the same time they sign the Consent forms for major surgery which has got nothing to do with CPR.
Then again if you're dying on an operating table it's still got everything to do with CPR.

DanielMMS · 21 Apr 2012 at 14:34

Dimple said:
Not within the records but at the very front where the Alerts section is.
FACT - in 2 years of messing with Medical records I have only ever seen a DNAR twice in the correct place.

Yes and no

. If it is an advance DNACPR decision then yes, the form should always be at the front of the medical records. Regularly, however, a DNACPR is issued in relation to a particular episode in which case it is kept in the front of the medical records until the patient is discharged from that episode at which point it would be filed either amongst cardex or correspondence. In fact, a non-advance DNACPR should be reviewed regularly depending on the circumstances.

Fenris · 21 Apr 2012 at 14:58

Kamwah said:
Isn't their a religious faith which doesn't allow resuscitation? Don't they have a tattoo or some kind of necklace?

Well, Jehovah Witnesses believe that donating or receiving blood is prohibited.

SexyGreyFox · 21 Apr 2012 at 15:02

DanielMMS said:
Yes and no . If it is an advance DNACPR decision then yes, the form should always be at the front of the medical records. Regularly, however, a DNACPR is issued in relation to a particular episode in which case it is kept in the front of the medical records until the patient is discharged from that episode at which point it would be filed either amongst cardex or correspondence. In fact, a non-advance DNACPR should be reviewed regularly depending on the circumstances.

I did say in a post above that I know of one case where the family are claiming the DNAR was for one incident and not the following incident.