A dying breed?
A shocking UK investigation has reportedly found some of the country’s hospitals have used “do not resuscitate” orders to secretly bring elderly patients to an early death. The orders allegedly state patients’ lives should not be saved if their hearts stop, and are reportedly regularly enacted without the knowledge of the patients or their families.
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A shocking UK investigation has reportedly found some of the country’s hospitals have used “do not resuscitate” orders to secretly bring elderly patients to an early death.
The orders allegedly state patients’ lives should not be saved if their hearts stop, and are reportedly regularly enacted without the knowledge of the patients or their families.
According to the National Health Service, junior doctors at one hospital admitted that medical teams reportedly filled out the order forms without discussing the matter with patients or their relatives.
While medical guidelines require orders to only be issued after senior staff discuss the matter with the patient’s family, a form signed by two doctors is placed in the patients’ notes to record the decisions made.
The findings surfaced after spot checks of 100 hospitals were made by Care Quality Commission, and show many of these hospitals are not allegedly “meeting key standards” for nutrition and dignity in elderly people.
“We believe that there is a real danger here that we are seeing euthanasia by default and by the back door. In some cases it is occurring by accident, because the practices being used are not safe; in others, we are seeing junior doctors making decisions without consulting patients or family,” Gary Fitzgerald, of the charity organisation Action on Elder Abuse, tells The Guardian.
“Everyone admitted to hospital deserves to be treated as an individual, with compassion and dignity. We must never lose sight of the fact that the most important people are [the] patients.”
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