Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) on Thursday, 10 December 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 December 2015. It was answered by Lord Prior of Brampton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 22 December 2015 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Palliative Care: Learning Disability

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to ensure that Do Not Resuscitate orders are not assigned in the future to patients solely because they have Down’s syndrome or any other learning disability.

Answer

The Department expects National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts to have in place local policies on resuscitation that are based on expert professional guidance. We have commended, as a basis for local policies, professional guidance, Decisions relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (2014), published jointly by the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the Royal College of Nursing. The guidance is clear that any resuscitation decision must be free from any discrimination, tailored to the individual circumstances of the patient and fully documented. The use of a Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation decision solely on the basis that a patient has Down’s Syndrome is totally unacceptable.

A copy of the guidance is attached.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL4446
Session: 2015-16
Attachment: Decisions Relating to CPR
Subjects: Learning disability Down's syndrome Palliative care
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Palliative Care: Learning Disability

Secondary information

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