UK GOVT ORDERS ‘DO NOT RESUSCITATE’ NOTICE FOR PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

How can the authorities make such a blatant move in England – discriminating against the most vulnerable section of our population?

The Guardian recently put to light a disparaging act by England’s healthcare authorities. People with learning disabilities have been given ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ or DNR orders without their or their family’s consent.

The issue came to light when Mencap, a charity, told the press about healthcare providers acting on DNR and telling people with learning disabilities (like Down’s Syndrome, Dyslexia, etc.) that they won’t be resuscitated if they got infected with COVID19.

Mencap CEO, Edel Harris stated – “Throughout the pandemic, many people with a learning disability have faced shocking discrimination and obstacles to accessing healthcare, with inappropriate Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices put on their files and cuts made to their social care support.”

What is DNR?

DNR or a Do Not Resuscitate is a written order that instructs healthcare providers to not perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) on a patient in case he/she stops breathing or their heart stops functioning.

DNRs are only meant for people who are too fragile to benefit from a CPR. However, Mencap said that the same seems to have been issued for people simply because they had a learning disability.

In a world of equality and freedom, this incident is occurring for the second time. Unsurprisingly, the unethical and irresponsible orders have been received with widespread condemnation and anger.

‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Orders and Deaths

As soon as the unethical orders came into the public domain, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) set out an investigation to look into the matter.

CQC, in its investigation, found multiple instances of avoidable deaths of learning disabled patients. It stated that the preliminary investigation has revealed evidence of ‘unacceptable’ and ‘inappropriate’ DNRs being enforced at the beginning of the pandemic.

Rosie Benneyworth, Chief Inspector of primary medical services and integrated care at CQC stated – “It is unacceptable for clinical decisions – decisions which could dictate whether someone’s loved one gets the right care when they need it most – to be applied in a blanket approach to any group of people.”

Learning Disabled, Already too Vulnerable

UK’s health report has already established that those aged between 18 – 34 and having a learning disability are 30 times more likely to succumb to COV19 than other age-groups. Moreover, the Learning Disability Mortality Review made it clear that 65% of the learning-challenged patients died from mild to moderate strain of the disease. 

In addition to this infuriating discrimination against a vulnerable population, there have been reports that learning disabled people have been kept at the bottom of vaccination priorities.

Doesn’t it all sound like a big global conspiracy by the authoritarian governments? First, they released COVID as a global military exercise, then they endangered lives with untested vaccines for capitalist objectives, and now this blatant inhumane order.

It is time to wake up!

Spread the word for a better world.