Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he is having with the care sector on the use of Do Not Resuscitate orders in response to concerns on their use in care homes during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Adult Social Care Winter Plan reinforces that any advance care decision, including do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions, should be fully discussed with the individual and their family where possible and appropriate, and signed by the clinician responsible for their care. Blanket DNACPR’s are not acceptable.

In October 2020 the Department asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to review how DNACPR decisions were used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CQC were asked to look at how people, and their family, friends and other carers, were involved in planning, managing and making decisions. An interim report was published on the 3 December 2020, with the final report scheduled for publication in March 2021.