As a live-in carer it is always a good thing to have a client with a family who all agree about how the care plan of their relative is managed. Normally things are all agreed and go ahead according to plan with the carer knowing exactly what to do in the event of death.
Occasionally, however, family will disagree about things and while most common forms of disagreement are about issues such as what you cook for their loved one at night, sometimes family can disagree strongly about important issues.
One of the issues which you may find family disagreeing over is the DNR (do not resuscitate) form. There are different ways to look at this form and the implications it has on clients, carers, and families.
What is a DNR?
This is a legal document which has to be written and signed by a doctor. It provides instructions for health care providers (or anyone who is present when a person passes away) to not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation should a person stop breathing or the heart stop beating.
The DNR form allows people to choose not to be resuscitated, ie to have their final wishes carried out.
If no DNR is in place emergency services will try their best to resuscitate your client, even though they have no heartbeat or have stopped breathing.
Where does this leave carers?
The longer you are a live-in carer, the more likely it becomes that you will be with a client when they pass away.
With no DNR in place, you will find that when you call Emergency Services to tell them that your client is no longer breathing, that they will give you instructions to start CPR – and to continue it until they arrive.
What does this mean?
Basically, it means that having been with your client as they pass away, you are now required to start chest compressions on them – even though you know that they have passed away.
Death is stressful for most people at the best of times but having the added stress of performing CPR on your client may be an intolerable situation.
What to do about no DNR?
When you arrive at your client, one of the first things you should find out is whether there is a DNR in place, and if not, then you should find out why.
The first people to ask should be the family. It may be that one sibling does not want it in place and the other does.
If this is the case, then try not to ‘take sides’ but open the discussion as to why there is the disagreement. In most cases, simply talking about what will happen to their loved one should they die with no DNR in place is enough for most family members to agree to one being drawn up.
If family simply will not agree, and no DNR is set up then your next move should be to discuss with your agency. They may be able to influence the disagreeing party.
Final thoughts
Having no DNR in place is unusual, although it does happen. Discussion should always be your first option, and normally this is enough to sway the decision the right way.
If family is adamant that there will not be a DNR in place, you really have two choices left. You can either stay at the placement and be prepared for what you will be asked to do at the end, or you can state your case and leave.
Either way, it is and will be a dreadful situation for you when the end does come but knowing that you will not be asked to perform CPR on your frail client who has gently passed away is a far better situation to be in that being obliged to perform CPR on someone who has died.
Tags:
© 2025 EJOBBOARD LTD. All Rights Reserved.