At least one NHS trust has imposed a blanket “do not resuscitate” order for sick patients in the pandemic, as Covid investigations have revealed.

This would mean that individuals were considered ineligible for potentially life-saving CPR based solely on age or disability, without being individually assessed.

Professor Jonathan Wylie, former chairman of the Regeneration Council UK, said that he was aware of one trust implementing this policy, although he had not seen any document setting it out.

Groups representing families of people who have died from Covid said they were “horrified but not surprised”.

Under NHS guidance, a Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNCPR) order can be added to someone’s medical notes after consultation with the patient or their family members.

This means medical staff will not attempt chest compressions or defibrillation, where an electric shock is applied to restore a normal heart rhythm if the patient’s heart or breathing stops.

Only 15–20% of those who receive CPR in hospital survive, with the success rate falling to 5–10% outside hospital.

Groups representing bereaved families believe some hospital departments became so overwhelmed in the pandemic that DNACPR rules were implemented based solely on age, disability or medical condition.

In those days, The charity Mencap said Some people with learning disabilities have reported that they will not be revived if they fall ill with Covid.

NHS England says a blanket DNACPR rule for everyone with specific medical conditions or over a certain age would be unlawful.

it Wrote to NHS Trust several times during pandemicTo remind physicians that orders should only be implemented with “appropriate consent.”

Professor Wylie told the inquiry he had not seen any documents from the NHS trust concerned, but had heard about the policy from a fellow member of the regeneration council.

The charity, which develops guidelines and training for medical staff, then issued a “very clear” public statement that the DNACPR order “was not the appropriate way to proceed and should not be implemented”.

“That was our position and it has never changed,” Professor Wylie said.

Covid-19 bereaved families for Justice UK said the use of blanket policies would be “irrefutable evidence” some NHS services were overwhelmed in the pandemic.

Nicola Brooke, the group’s lawyer, said: “We have heard repeatedly from those at the top of the investigation that the overall DNACPR was not appropriate and there was no direction for it.”

“Bereaved families have long known that the reality on the ground was very different.

“Their worst fears have now been confirmed, but it brings with it even more questions, ‘If it happened in this trust, did it happen in the trust where my loved one was?'”