{"id":1166472,"date":"2021-12-28T18:49:52","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T23:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1166472"},"modified":"2021-12-28T18:49:54","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T23:49:54","slug":"kids-with-learning-disabilities-offered-do-not-resuscitate-orders-by-uk-health-service-during-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kids-with-learning-disabilities-offered-do-not-resuscitate-orders-by-uk-health-service-during-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids with Learning Disabilities Offered &#039;Do Not Resuscitate&#039; Orders by UK Health Service During Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkids-with-learning-disabilities-offered-do-not-resuscitate-orders-by-uk-health-service-during-pandemic%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1166472&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1209052171-e1640700621780-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">British children with learning disabilities were offered \u2018do not attempt resuscitation\u2019 orders during the pandemic \u2014 for no reason other than the child having a learning disability, families believe.<\/p>\n<p>Britain\u2019s socialised National Health Service (NHS) attempted to give children with learning disabilities \u2018do not resuscitate\u2019 notices, knowns as DNARs or DNRs, during the pandemic, <em>The Telegraph<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/12\/26\/children-learning-disabilities-offered-do-not-resuscitate-orders\/\">reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>This is a development from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/06\/09\/patients-mental-illness-learning-disabilities-given-do-not-resuscitate\/\">earlier reports<\/a> that adults with learning disabilities and mental illnesses had also received DNAR notices \u2014 which potentially led to the death of at least one individual.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Do not attempt resuscitation\u2019 notices are orders for healthcare staff to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/do-not-attempt-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-dnacpr-decisions\/\">withhold medical treatment<\/a> from a patient if they look as if they are about to die, such as if their heart stops, and are typically given to people who are extremely frail or have an incurable condition, such as terminal cancer.<\/p>\n<p>A patient can either request a DNAR or a doctor can assign one to a patient without their permission.&nbsp;As the NHS website puts it: \u201cYou must be told that a DNACPR form will be\/has been completed for you, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/do-not-attempt-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-dnacpr-decisions\/#:~:text=DNACPR%20is%20a%20medical%20treatment,does%20not%20need%20your%20consent.\">a doctor does not need your consent<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><em>The Telegraph<\/em> has exposed that GPs (General Practitioners) asked children with learning disabilities if they wanted \u2018do not resuscitate orders\u2019 in an alleged effort to ease pressure on the socialised health service, presumably by eliminating the need to treat some people with learning disabilities.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Coronavirus Patients with Learning Disabilities Given &#8216;Do Not Resuscitate Orders&#8217; in Britain <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QamgJ0OOEU\">https:\/\/t.co\/QamgJ0OOEU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1361060611560505352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Debbie Corns, whose son Oliver has&nbsp;a learning disability and congenital classic autism, spoke to <em>the Telegraph<\/em>&nbsp;and<em>&nbsp;<\/em>alleges that her son was asked if he wanted a DNAR notice by a GP and he initially agreed, as he did not understand what it meant.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Corns said she corrected her son, who was just 15 at the time, and made sure that the GP did not give Oliver a DNAR notice.<\/p>\n<p>Several days later Ms Corns with her husband asked her son Oliver: \u201cIf your heart stopped, would you like the doctors to try to save your life or would you like to die?\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Corns recounts that \u201cHe [Oliver] went upstairs for 20 minutes, but before leaving for school he looked at my husband and said, \u2018Dad, save my life.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said it several times over the next few days. It broke our hearts. With the right language, support and time, he did understand. He had time to think about it. When the doctor asked, he couldn\u2019t consent properly.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Ms Corns said that \u201cthe doctor devalued [Oliver\u2019s] life\u201d. She also alleged that Oliver would not have been safe with the NHS if she had not been present: \u201cimagine he went to hospital after an accident by himself. We would have lost control of his healthcare and they might not have resuscitated him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The GP practice has since apologised and claimed that the doctor who asked about the DNAR notice did so in error.<\/p>\n<p>Another parent told <em>The Telegraph<\/em> that she had been asked if she wanted a DNAR for her 16-year-old son with Down\u2019s Syndrome, branding the question \u201cdisgusting\u201d and \u201cvery upsetting\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>DNAR notices if given because a patient has a learning disability may be in breach of the Equalities Act of 2010, which protects people with disabilities against discrimination in healthcare.<\/p>\n<p>At the start of the pandemic in 2020 NHS England also wrote to medical professionals reminding them that&nbsp;learning disabilities \u201cshould never be a reason for issuing a DNAR order\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police Called on Disabled Man Who Didn\u2019t Wear \u2018Mask Exempt\u2019 Yellow Badge <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ondTx9OEGF\">https:\/\/t.co\/ondTx9OEGF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1362355680552828937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 18, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Sonia Deleon, 58,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/06\/09\/patients-mental-illness-learning-disabilities-given-do-not-resuscitate\/\">died<\/a> of a heart attack in April 2020. No CPR was attempted due to a DNAR order being in a place with the reason on the form being her learning disability. The NHS has claimed that this was \u201can error\u201d and that \u201cfrailty\u201d and \u201cmultiple co-morbidities\u201d were the actual reason for her DNAR order.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen they gave my sister the DNAR, they were basically writing her off\u201d, said Sally-Rose Cyrille, Delon\u2019s sister. She said it was \u201clike they were saying, \u2018she\u2019s got a learning disability, why are we even bothering?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In December 2020, Britain\u2019s healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC),&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/02\/14\/coronavirus-patients-with-learning-disabilities-given-do-not-resuscitate-orders-in-uks-socialised-healthcare-system\/\">said<\/a> that there was \u201cevidence of unacceptable and inappropriate\u201d use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) orders from NHS doctors during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to avoidable deaths.<\/p>\n<p>It is unknown how many disabled people were given these notices. Over \u201c1.5 million people with a learning disability\u201d live in the United Kingdom and medical records are classified, meaning it is unlikely that the full extent of this scandal will ever be exposed.<\/p>\n<p>When this shameful practise first came to light in October last year, top learning disability charity Mencap released a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mencap.org.uk\/press-release\/mencap-responds-announcement-cqc-review-use-dnr-notices\">statement<\/a> asserting that people with learning disabilities had \u201ca right to equal access to healthcare just like anyone else\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mencap also condemned the \u201cpotentially unlawful use\u201d of DNR notices for \u201cfit and healthy people with a learning disability\u201d during the pandemic, saying it was \u201cdiscriminatory and quite literally put their lives in danger\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to a question from Baroness&nbsp;Angela Browning in the House of Lords about the use of DNAR notices during the pandemic, Lord James Bethell, while in office as Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, on the 1st of October 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/do-not-attempt-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-dnacpr-decisions\/\">stated<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cMy Lords, the department [of health] is very clear that the blanket use of DNACPR and DNR is unacceptable. An agreement to a DNACPR is an individual decision and should involve the person concerned or, where the person lacks capacity, their family, carer, guardian or any other legally recognised advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When specifically asked by Baroness Browning about people with learning disabilities being given DNARs without their permission Lord Bethell said it was \u201ccompletely unacceptable for any group of people to have blanket DNACPR provisions apply to them\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>So far there have been no prosecutions of medical staff for the use of&nbsp;DNAR orders given&nbsp;for the sole reason of disability to people with learning disabilities, however.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In case there was any doubt, DNR orders are still being imposed on disabled people. Someone just tweeted at me saying that &#8216;it&#8217;s hardly an immoral choice to make.&#8217; The fact that disabled deaths have been seen as acceptable or inevitable by so many is disgusting beyond words. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iFeSu5RND6\">https:\/\/t.co\/iFeSu5RND6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Karl Knights (@Inadarkwood) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Inadarkwood\/status\/1360668947725574148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 13, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Using DNAR orders on the disabled to \u201ctake pressure off of the NHS\u201d has been&nbsp;labelled&nbsp;as \u201ceugenics\u201d and likened to Nazi Germany\u2019s T4 programme of involuntary euthanasia for disabled people by disability advocate and writer&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/gusalexiou\/2020\/06\/23\/unlawful-do-not-resuscitate-orders-for-disabled-covid-patients-outrageous\/?sh=d5646cc6cf17\">Gus Alexiou<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2018Aktion T4\u2019 programme was used by the German National Socialists to <a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.ushmm.org\/content\/en\/article\/euthanasia-program\">murder over 70,000<\/a> children and adults with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities were starved to death, gassed, shot, given lethal injections, and fatal overdoses of drugs by medical staff.<\/p>\n<p>The National Socialists justified their T4 programme by branding people with disabilities as \u201cuseless eaters\u201d and claimed they were a burden on the state and a waste of resources.<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"western\"><em><span>Follow Breitbart London on Facebook:<\/span><\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BreitbartLondon\/\"><span>Breitbart London<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>British children with learning disabilities were offered \u2018do not attempt resuscitation\u2019 orders during the pandemic \u2014 for no reason other than the child having a learning disability, families believe. Britain\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1166472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1166472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1166472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1166472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1166472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}