People with learning disabilities are still being given do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders in England despite widespread condemnation of the practice leading to an investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQQ).
Charity, Mencap, told The Guardian that many with learning disabilities were told they would not be resuscitated if they got ill from COVID-19 without their or their family’s consent in January. A DNR is a medical order instructing health care providers not to do CPR if a patient stops breathing or heart stops.
Mencap CEO Edel Harris told The Guardian: “Throughout the pandemic, many people with a learning disability have faced shocking discrimination and obstacles to accessing healthcare, with inappropriate Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices put on their files and cuts made to their social care support.”
Here is the question that needs to be asked: How the fuck would the care provider know the patient has a learning disability?