Can anyone advise please. My husband has PD and was given a DNAR while in Hospital last year following a fall, he was quite unwell following the fall and was discharged with delirium and advised he had mild cognitive decline, the Consultant putting the DNAR in place despite my objections. 6 months on he has made great progress the delirium cleared after months and the hallucinations subsided once he was off the Rotigotine Patch, he does have very mild cognitive decline, some days you wouldn’t know he had, I asked GP Surgery to revoke the DNAR as he has improved, they visited us at home and the decision was made by the GP the DNAR has to stay in place, I asked why the answer was he has PD and mild cognitive issues. Surely this can’t be right, it seems to me like they are discriminating against him. Any advise would be welcome.
Hi @Peter12, 
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I can see you haven’t had a response from any members of the community as yet so I thought I’d chime in to offer some support.
I’m sorry to hear that you feel that your husband is being discriminated against - this is obviously unacceptable if this is the case and I would encourage you to make a formal complaint to his GP.
This is quite a complex situation and I would encourage you to speak with an adviser via our helpline service as they may be able to offer you more support on this and can point you in the right direction of who to speak to. Please give us a call on 0808 800 0303.
Best wishes,
Reah
Hello Peter 12. I am sorry you have not had any feedback yet. This is a difficult subject and one which many find difficult to face. I think the best way I can help you understand is to give you some in formation of what a cardiac arrest would mean to your husband and the possible after effects. This may not be easy information for you to take on board but comes from personal experience as well.
When a pwp has a cardiac arrest there is a significant risk of acquired brain injury. Additionally the trauma to the body will be great and recovery from this event should not be underestimated along with the strong possibility of delirium which may or may not be permanent or cause another layer of brain injury/dementia. It is entirely likely that his quality of life will be affected.
my husband had a cardiac arrest during surgery. He was resuscitated and spent a period in intensive care. He went into delirium for his 6 month stay in hospital He is now home with 24/7 continuous care and suffers from PTSD. His dementia has considerably worsened and he continues to deteriorate. He is no longer the man I married and reflecting back I think it would have possibly been kinder to have let him go.
He currently has a DNR in place and no matter what happens will never go into hospital again unless he has a catastrophic fall and even then after assessment and immediate treatment to manage any damage will come home. His care is now palliative.
I hope this will give you some understanding of the reasoning behind this decision of yr GP and am sorry he was not able to give an explanation for his decision.
I hope this helps a little and you are able to put this concern to one side and make the most of every day.
Much love to you and go well.
I
Hello. I was very sorry to read your letter this morning and wanted to reply simply to express my sorrow for your situation.
I looked it up and the description is that doctors feel resuscitation wouldn’t be successful. I think the lady above has described why that might not be the case - the body might survive but so damaged.
This is such a horrible disease. My heart goes out to you all. My lover is plodding along with it, slowly declining. Can only hope this decision never arrives. Xxx
From the CQC: This is particularly important in regard to DNAR orders, which should only ever be made on an individual basis and in consultation with the individual or their family.
Any review of a DNAR should consider the wishes of the patient or their family as well.