Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on the use of do not resuscitate orders relating to (a) people with learning disabilities and (b) disabled people; and whether his Department has revised any such guidance in response to recent reports that do not resuscitate orders are allegedly being applied to individuals without their consent.

We have been clear that learning disability should never be a reason for a Do Not Attempt Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decision and that blanket DNACPR decisions are completely inappropriate.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have issued a number of joint statements to health and care providers reiterating that DNACPR decisions must not be applied in a blanket fashion to any group. The 2020/21 General Medical Services (GMS) contract Quality and Outcomes Framework now includes a requirement for all DNACPR decisions for people with a learning disability to be reviewed. We have asked the Care Quality Commission to undertake a review of DNACPR notices issued during the pandemic. This review has started and will report later in 2021.