Fury at GP’s Covid ‘do not resuscitate’

Family hits out after woman, 86, with memory issues sent form

A GP surgery phoned an 86-year-old patient with memory problems to ask her to agree a “do not resuscitate” order in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Helen Wray found the agreement at her mother’s Tayside home, sparking fears doctors are prioritising treatment for younger patients.

GPs across Scotland have been sent updated guidance on having “anticipatory care planning” conversations with elderly patients before the Covid-19 epidemic peaks.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles

Briggs said: “Pushing elderly and very vulnerable patients into agreeing life-ending procedures over the phone is utterly unacceptable.”

The policy emerged as Fife Council revealed nearly half its rubbish collectors were off work either ill or self-isolating.

A Tayside GP surgery phoned an 86-year-old patient with memory problems to ask her to agree a “do not resuscitate” order in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Helen Wray said Ryehill Medical Practice in Dundee apologised after her elderly mother was sent a completed do not resuscitate form (DNACPR) after the March 25 telephone call from a locum doctor.

The move – which was branded utterly unacceptable by the Scottish Conservatives – would mean doctors not performing CPR in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest.

The incident has sparked fears over the impact of doctors prioritising treatment for younger patients as Covid19 continues to cause devastation.

GPs across Scotland have been sent “updated guidance” on having “anticipatory care planning” conversations with elderly patients before the epidemic peaks.

Mrs Wray said her mother, who the family wish to keep anonymous, was “happy to take a phone call from anyone” but would rarely remember the discussion.

She said: “They should have known she wasn’t able to agree. The whole concept is a cull of people of a certain age. “We know my mother’s lungs wouldn’t survive the Covid-19 virus but who’s to say that she wouldn’t live to be 100 years old if she manages to escape this illness?” The Courier has established that other GP surgeries in Tayside have also started sending out the forms to some patients.

Mrs Wray said the family found the form by chance among her mother’s medical correspondence. The DNACPR order, seen by The Courier, right, has a hand-written note on it that reads “telephone consultation as per Covid-19 protocol”. Government body Health Improvement Scotland is sharing updated guidance on anticipatory care conversations during the Covid-19 outbreak.

It insists this is to ensure that “good” conversations are held as widely as possible. Mrs Wray said the surgery had asked a second doctor, who knew her mother, to call the family and apologise after they questioned the form.

She said: “My mother lives in a bubble. In a two-minute conversation she will say the same thing repeatedly.

“My sister, who has power of attorney over my mother, found the letter.

“We were absolutely appalled. “Nobody has heard anything about them making these kinds of calls. It came completely out of the blue.”

Mrs Wray said the NHS should have done more to make people aware of the need for conversations around resuscitation. And she insisted the discussion should have been “family led”, as is the case when someone wishes to go on the organ donor register.

The practice manager at the Ryehill Medical Practice said they did not comment on individual cases and advised contacting NHS Tayside.

A spokeswoman from NHS Tayside said they had not changed their guidance on DNACPR forms during the Covid-19 outbreak.

They did not comment on behalf of GP surgeries in the NHS Tayside area, she added. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “There has been no change to the use of DNACPR forms.

“In circumstances where it is necessary to have difficult conversations with people and their families regarding their care wishes, they should be handled with care and tact.

“We expect clinicians should use their judgment in such situations.

“However, we are clear that we expect that people must always be treated with dignity by health and social care professionals.

“This is a fundamental prerequisite for all care administered in Scotland.”

Ryehill Medical Practice.