Another Lawsuit over Unilateral DNAR Orders

I have blogged about several lawsuits (for example the David Tracey Case) by British patients against NHS hospitals in which clinicians placed a DNAR order in a patient's chart without consent.  Today's Guardian reports yet another one.



The unnamed family of patient "AWA" is bringing a legal challenge against a hospital in Kent where a doctor apparently decided staff should make no attempt to resuscitate the patient if he suffered cardiac or respiratory arrest, on the basis of his disability.  Lawyers for the family said a form added to the man's medical notes last September gave the reasons for no resuscitation as "Down's syndrome", "unable to swallow" (the man has a feeding tube in his stomach), "bedbound" and "learning difficulties".