Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to implement the recommendations from the Care Quality Commission's report Protect, respect, connect – decisions about living and dying well during COVID-19 published in March 2021 to (a) establish a Ministerial Oversight Group to look into the issues of end of life care in more detail, (b) support people, their families and their representatives to understand good practice when reaching DNACPR decisions, and (c) work with health service and care partners, voluntary sector organisations and advocacy services to establish a unified approach to guidance that supports DNACPR decisions for service users.

The Department established a Ministerial Oversight Group responsible for the delivery of the recommendations of the Care Quality Commission’s report. The first meeting was held on 8 June and will meet quarterly to monitor progress.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have published patient-facing information on Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) to support people in understanding good practice around such decisions, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/do-not-attempt-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-dnacpr-decisions/

The Ministerial Oversight Group is working closely with health and care partners, voluntary sector organisations and advocacy groups to ensure adherence to guidance on how DNACPR decisions are used.