Patient dies as DNR order is discovered

Apatient at Ninewells Hospital died after being given a do not resuscitate (DNR) order despite family members claiming they did not authorise it.

A watchdog has told NHS Tayside to apologise to the family concerned for “record keeping” errors.

The mistake meant conversations about putting in place the DNR were not recorded and the health board’s documents did not show any disagreement by the family at the time.

A DNR is a decision taken that means a healthcare professional is not required to resuscitate the patient if their heart or breathing stops.

In an investigation into the situation, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) found the family believed the decision to grant a DNR order was taken “incorrectly”.

The report does not say what caused the patient’s death, or if resuscitation could have prevented it.

The ombudsman also found the form was only signed by one clinician, rather than the two required, and ordered the health board to ensure it always documents conversations about DNRS.

The error has been criticised by Dundee siblings Catriona Black and Rod Mckay, who are calling on stricter controls over DNR use after they found a form “stuffed inside” their mother’s bag when she was discharged from Ninewells in May last year.

She said the decision by the SPSO in this latest case could lead to further hospital deaths being investigated.

She said: “As we now know, what happened to mum and this other person in Ninewells were not isolated – or even a regional

occurrence – they were widespread throughout Scotland and indeed the UK.”

DNR use became a huge topic of controversy last year at the height of the pandemic.

It emerged patients across the UK, particularly the elderly, felt pressured into signing the forms, which are designed to prevent potentially harmful or futile CPR.

Some meanwhile are believed to have had such an order applied without their permission or their families’ permission.

Last year, The Courier reported on one of the first situations to come to light when an 86-year-old from Dundee agreed to her GP surgery’s “do not resuscitate” request despite suffering memory issues.

It left the elderly patient’s family in complete shock with daughter Helen Wray hitting out at the GP.

A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “We accept all of the recommendations and have already apologised to the family.

“We are working to address the remaining recommendations.”

FATAL: The family of the patient were shocked to discover this order had been made.