Care homes were told to impose a blanket ‘do not resuscitate’ order on all of their residents during the peak of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak, according to a report. Charity, The Queen’s Nursing Institute, found one in 10 care homes were told by the NHS to change resuscitation orders for patients, without discussion with staff, the residents or their family. Half of staff members who were told to change the orders, which were imposed in a bid to free up hospital beds, worked in homes taking care of people with learning or cognitive disabilities. The other 50% worked in elderly residential homes. Professor Alison Leary, an expert in healthcare and workforce modelling at London South Bank University who wrote the report, described the findings as ‘worrying’ and called for an inquiry.
A fifth of the 128 surveyed care home managers and nurses said they received patients from the hospitals who had tested positive for coronavirus during March and April.
Almost half of staff said they also received residents that had not been tested before leaving hospital, while a third said they often did not have access to PPE. One respondent was quoted in The Times as saying: ‘We were advised to have them in place for all residents.
Read more: Care homes ‘ordered not to resuscitate’ residents during height of pandemic
