Boy, 11, and cancer patients get ‘do not resuscitate’ notices
A BOY aged just 11 and another of 16 are among those being asked to give up their right to be saved by doctors as the Covid-19 death toll escalates.
Families are being urged to sign Do Not Resuscitate orders for loved ones with complicated medical conditions.
Cancer patients have also had phone calls or letters from GP surgeries making similar requests.
The family of 11-year-old Ilhan Ates-Suddes, who has cancer, called the request “inhumane”.
Ilhan, of Scarborough, has a Desmoid tumour, a rare form of fibrosarcoma, in his neck and jaw.
Mum Margaret, 32, said: “Ilhan has fought cancer for seven years, there’s no way I’m going to let anyone give up on him.”
She claimed: “They asked if we wanted a DNR if Ilhan had to be taken to hospital. When I called to complain, one of the GPs said there had been a mistake.”
There was no one available for comment at Ilhan’s surgery. A 16-year-old from Colchester, Essex, also got a call asking him to agree to the medical order.
The teen, who has asthma and the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos, has a say in his own care plan. His mum said: “My son is just about to sit his A-levels.
“How can his life be worth nothing? He thinks the Government wants him dead. The surgery called to ask if he had enough asthma packs, then asked if he would agree to a DNR.
“They told him what it meant and he said, ‘Hell no, I’m only 16’.” The surgery declined to comment due to data protection rules.
The DNR order tells medics not to perform CPR if a patient stops breathing or their heart stops.
Last night Mencap chief executive Edel Harris urged health chiefs not to write people off. He said: “These letters are deeply troubling. They wrongly conflate having support needs with frailty.”
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth demanded NHS leaders offered “clear guidance”.
Cancer patient Elizabeth John, 61, of Bridgend, South Wales, also got an apology after her surgery sent a DNR form. She said: “Who is to say I wouldn’t survive? I was made to feel I was worthless.”
Doctors have been warned they will have to choose who lives or dies, and who gets precious ventilators as the NHS is overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.
One nurse in Scotland said many care homes had been asked to review DNRs for all residents.
She said: “We are essentially preparing for their deaths. Care homes aren’t just for the elderly, I’ve cared for some as young as 19.”
NHS England told us: “The key principle is that each person is an individual whose needs and preferences must be taken account of.
“Blanket policies are inappropriate whether due to medical condition, disability, or age.”