An analysis by the Office for National Statistics last week showed that six in 10 Covid deaths were of people with a disability
Mon 2:56 pm +01:00, 15 Feb 2021“An analysis by the Office for National Statistics last week showed that six in 10 Covid deaths were of people with a disability”
Fury at ‘do not resuscitate’ notices given to Covid patients with learning disabilities
Vulnerable people have encountered ‘shocking discrimination’ during pandemic, says Mencap charity
People with learning disabilities have been given do not resuscitate orders during the second wave of the pandemic, in spite of widespread condemnation of the practice last year and an urgent investigation by the care watchdog.
Mencap said it had received reports in January from people with learning disabilities that they had been told they would not be resuscitated if they were taken ill with Covid-19.
The Care Quality Commission said in December that inappropriate Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices had caused potentially avoidable deaths last year.
DNACPRs are usually made for people who are too frail to benefit from CPR, but Mencap said some seem to have been issued for people simply because they had a learning disability. The CQC is due to publish a report on the practice within weeks.
