Family that accused hospital of putting a “do not resuscitate” notice in patient’s notes was in denial, says judge
BMJ 2012; 345 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e8635 (Published 20 December 2012) Cite this as: BMJ 2012;345:e8635- Clare Dyer
- 1BMJ
A terminally ill patient’s family who took legal action over two “do not resuscitate” (DNR) notices in her medical notes was “in denial” about her prognosis and was protecting her by not discussing it, a High Court judge has ruled.
Janet Tracey’s husband, David, claimed that the two notices were put in his wife’s notes without her knowledge and without the agreement of her daughters, in breach of the policy of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and in violation of her human rights.1
The trust denied that the DNR notices were made without consultation, and Mrs Justice Nicola Davies was asked to resolve a factual conflict between the family and the trust’s doctors before the court went on to consider whether …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £173 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£38 / $45 / €42 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.