title: 'Not for resuscitation': guidelines for decision making and documentation.
abstract: In 1991, the government's Chief Medical Officer made it clear that the responsibility for resuscitation policy lay with consultants, and that they should ensure this policy was understood by all staff caring for a patient, in particular junior medical staff. Since then, many hospitals and trusts have provided members of the multidisciplinary team with guidance on how to ensure that adequate and satisfactory communication is in place to record a patient's resuscitation status. However, as is common in the NHS, poor documentation is still evident. Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital Trust has been using a document since April 1998 which is clearly written, user friendly and does not contain ambiguous statements. With ongoing audit of this policy document we hope to reduce the incidence of inappropriate resuscitation attempts which are costly, both emotionally and financially, for all concerned.
authors.affiliation: Department of Resuscitation Training, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital Trust, London.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Blackie
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Kinirons
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D004282:Documentation; D004739:England; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D016743:Mental Competency; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016414:Resuscitation Orders