Covid-19: Don’t apply advance care plans to groups of people, doctors’ leaders warn

Medical leaders have said it is “unacceptable” for advance care plans—with or without a completed “Do not attempt to resuscitate” (DNAR) form—to be applied in a blanket manner to whole groups of people during the covid-19 pandemic.1 The joint statement from the Royal College of General Practitioners, BMA, Care Provider Alliance, and Care Quality Commission comes amid concern that GPs are feeling under pressure not to admit their older vulnerable patients to hospital if they contract covid-19 because of restrictions on acute care capacity. Last week an NHS health board in Wales apologised after a general practice advised some patients with serious illnesses to fill in a …