Monday 12 December 2011

Oh, Well, So Long As The Paperwork's In Place....

A father has hit out after a York Hospital doctor failed to consult next of kin before filling in a “do not attempt resuscitation” form for his son.
Gosh, and they said this’d never happen!

… kidney patient Andrew Watson’s condition deteriorated one night while his parents, Peter and Sheila, were asleep at their home in Wigginton.


Peter Watson only found out the following afternoon about the decision not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation if his son went into cardio respiratory arrest.

Whoops! However, the hospital has an excuse ready.

Not a good one, admittedly:
However, hospital bosses said a DNACPR form was not a consent form, but was intended as a record that a discussion about the decision had taken place.
*BZZZZZT!*

Still wrong. Because no discussion had
Mr Watson said he disputed some of the findings of an investigation into the incident.

He said: “I do not intend to let this lie, as I do not want any patient, partner or next of kin to be put through the same distress that we had to suffer, and I don’t believe the trust will do anything constructive if left to manage it themselves.”
Does anyone? Anyone at all? Bueller?
Sarah Lovell, directorate manager for acute and general medicine, who investigated the matter, said in a report that Andrew had not been well enough for the decision to have been discussed with him and the doctor concerned had intended to discuss it with his next of kin.
Well, that road to hell is just paved with intentions, eh, Sarah?
She acknowledged staff could have made more pro-active attempts to arrange for a discussion much earlier in the day.
And could have, say, not simply filled the form in regardless….

2 comments:

Mjolinir said...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8963119/Shamed-hospital-accused-of-leaving-dying-patients-to-starve.html

Dr Vegas said...

If the clinical team have made the decision that CPR has no realistic chance of success and would not be a valid treatment option they are not obliged to provide it, as with any other type of treatment. In this situation open and sensitive discussion by a senior member of medical or nursing staff is advised with the patient and relevant others. Patients often overestimate success rates of CPR and may hold misconceptions over what it involves, and sensitively explaining more about the process of CPR often highlights patient's misunderstandings. Reassuring patients about the treatments that they will receive may be helpful. It may also be helpful to say that if they deteriorate unexpectedly "everything possible will be done" to improve things for them as that is often the anxiety behind a refusal to accept a DNACPR form.