CQC: Protect, respect, connect – decisions about living and dying well during COVID-19 (18 March 2021)

Summary

CQC review of ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ decisions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Content

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were concerns that ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR) decisions were being made without involving people, or their families and/or carers if so wished, and were being applied to groups of people, rather than taking into account each person’s individual circumstances.

In October 2020, the Department for Health and Social Care commissioned the CQC to conduct a special review into these concerns. The review, which took place between November 2020 and January 2021, looked at how DNACPR decisions were made in the context of advance care planning, across all types of health and care sectors, including care homes, primary care and hospitals.

During our review, we heard about the experiences of over 750 people and about the distress that people face when they do not feel involved in decisions about their care. When done well, DNACPR decisions are an important aspect of advance care planning, and people should be fully involved in discussions about their care.