Case Studies

Care Campaign for the Vulnerable is receiving an increase in concerns being told to us during the Covid pandemic regarding elderly loved ones having Do Not Attempt CPR (DNACPR) placed on them and saying this was against their loved one's wishes or without close family members being consulted. CCFTV is supporting families that have raised complaints with NHS hospitals and we are supporting them through this process. We fully accept and understand that this is the family's account. CCFTV supports our incredible NHS and our care workers

''My aunt was sent back home into the community from hospital with suspected Covid...''

''My aunt died on 27th April 2020 after being moved from hospital with suspected Covid. She died eight weeks later. She was subject to a DNAR without her knowledge even though she did not have dementia and had consistently and strongly stated throughout the previous year, and when she got to the hospital that last time, that she was against having a DNR.

The guilt of not supporting her throughout those final weeks will stay with me forever.

I have a discharge form from the Hospital and a report from a doctor who saw her in the hospital saying that she had suspected Covid when she was transferred from the hospital to the care home. They also sent her home with suspected Covid. That lasted three days as her needs were too complex for her to be left alone between home care visits. She had a team of four nurses, four times a day and they couldn't meet her needs.

Covid is not listed on my aunt's death certificate and she was not tested so we will never know whether she had it or not. The trauma of her final weeks stays with me because I only saw her twice for thirty minutes in the last ten weeks of her life and she was moved three times. Once to the care home, then back to her flat for three days, then back to the care home. She died three days after that final move. I had around fifty phone calls with her social worker, the community care team, her doctor and the care home during these transitions. I begged them not to send her home as she was too ill.

When she was sent home she was already at the end of life drugs and had been for two weeks. We did not know about this until we got her documentation after she had passed away. The ambulance man who took her home was very reluctant to take her out of the ambulance and leave her at home because he could see that she was very distressed and too frail to cope. That day I had TWENTY SEVEN phone calls with him, with her doctor, with the community nurses and with her social worker to try and tell them that she was not fit enough to go home. I had seen her for half an hour a couple of weeks earlier and could see that she was too ill to cope at home with just FOUR care visits a day and with no overnight support. The doctor examined her the next day and said that she would have to be transferred back into the care home because her needs were too great.

The social worker said that my aunt wanted to go home and could she could make that decision because she had the 'capacity to. After my aunt died I found out that the social worker had in fact an old report and hadn't been sent the new one which stated that she did NOT have the capacity to assess the risks and consequences of her decisions. Was her cognitive decline due to Covid? We will never know. After ten years of looking after her, the guilt of not supporting her through those final weeks will stay with me for the rest of my life. I am happy to share the reports with you if you think they will add to your body of evidence.''

CCFTV on our calling for a Public Inquiry. Read here:- Care Home Professional https://www.carehomeprofessional.com/pm-faces-call-for-public-inquiry-into-use-of-do-not-attempt-cpr-orders/

Care Campaign for the Vulnerable is supporting this family and this is the family's account. CCFTV is calling for a public inquiry into the use of DNR orders during the pandemic. If you are affected by this account or interested in this case study please contact ccftv.cares@gmail.com