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Conversation about CPR

This page is being developed 

The conversation around whether CPR is something you would want to have considered in your future care, for yourself or someone close to you; or even whether the healthcare team may feel CPR would be appropriate, or not, can be very hard to contemplate. 

While every conversation is different and specific to the care of each and every one of us, some aspects of the topic are universal.

  1. The decision to ‘not want future CPR attempts’ is about making sure people have dignity in their dying moments. CPR starts at the point of death. 
  2. It is a medical decision, but clinicians do have a duty to consult you on this unless it may cause harm. In such discussions, you can voice your views and ask questions.
  3. It is absolutely not about limiting all other treatments and tests, and it is not about a reduction in the care being delivered or that is received by the patient.

In short, a patient with a Do Not Attempt Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decision in place will receive exactly the same care as anyone else; all the way up to the point that their heart stops beating and they die.  Only then would the DNACPR decision guide the actions of healthcare professionals to respect that the likelihood of success of CPR is outweighed by providing dignity for someone in their dying moments.

Below are some useful resources to help you understand:

  1. What it means to have CPR;
  2. The ‘realistic expectations’ or likely outcomes of CPR for each individual;
  3. Different circumstances where even for the same individual CPR might be suitable, and circumstances where it might not be;
  4. How life might be following CPR if it were successful;
  5. What choosing not to have CPR might mean;
  6. You also have the right to see and request the All Wales DNACPR policy and its resources www.wales.nhs.uk/DNACPR