Care Homes Told to Put Blanket DNR Order on All Residents

Except in rare circumstances when CPR would be physiologically futile or virtually physiologically futile, clinicians must obtain the patient's consent to write a do not resuscitate (DNR) order. In any case, clinicians must at least first consult with the patient or surrogate.

So, it is alarming that a new Queen’s Nursing Institute report hows a decision was made at a high-level, asking UK care homes to automatically label all their residents as DNR.

This is even more egregious than reported cases of U.S. nursing homes mandating or offering incentives for completing POLST for all residents. At least those residents could complete the POLST in a value concordant manner.