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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Can My Aunt Sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) for My Dad in ICU with a Stroke?

If you want to know if you should sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) when you have your loved one, critically ill in intensive care, stay tuned. I’ve got news for you.

My name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I have another quick tip for families in intensive care.

Today, I have an email from Miriam who says, “Hi Patrik, my father had an unexpected stroke, and the ambulance brought his heart rate back and then at the hospital, he had the pulse. My dad’s sister signed DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and nobody else wanted to or was even asked. His sister shouldn’t have had even been offered the option to sign that DNR paper or was legally able to when he has two willing and able children. What is the law behind this?”

Well, Miriam, I’m very sorry to hear about your dad’s situation that he had a stroke and that he’s now in intensive care on a ventilator with a breathing tube.

Now, here’s the situation. Unless your dad has clearly stated that he would like a DNR in a situation like that or unless there is an advanced care plan where he states prior to this situation that he would like a DNR if he ever ends up in ICU on a ventilator, maybe even specified if he had a stroke, then a DNR would be relevant, I believe.

If none of this has been documented and your dad never mentioned anything about wanting a DNR, then nobody should be signing a DNR. Now, unless your father’s sister is the undisputed next of kin or power of attorney, she would have a legal right to sign a DNR if she would have discussed it with your father.

Now, it sounds to me like your aunt or your father’s sister is not the legal guardian or power of attorney. Therefore, she should not be allowed to sign the DNR. So, I do believe that the hospital has potentially tricked her and potentially tricked you. No one can force anyone to sign a DNR. I would also think that you as the child of your father, you would know if your aunt was the power of attorney or the legal guardian for your father. It sounds to me like there’s nothing.

But what do hospitals do? Well, many hospitals want patients out as quickly as possible. That means they often use tactics and strategies that are potentially illegal, that are not aligned with their own hospital policies but are aligned with their goals.

What are their goals? Their goals are to empty the ICU bed as quickly as possible. An ICU bed is the most sought-after bed in the hospital. So therefore, they have a strong interest to empty their ICU beds as quickly as possible. One way to empty a bed in ICU as quickly as possible is by letting someone die and that means if your dad’s sister signs to DNR, and they then almost slowly but surely remove treatment. That is my experience when someone is getting a DNR in ICU.

I have worked in critical care nursing for 25 years in three different countries where I worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years in intensive care. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com where I can very confidently say that we have saved many lives for our clients in intensive care all over the world. You can verify that on our testimonial section at intensivecarehotline.com or you can verify it at our podcast section at intensivecarehotline.com where we have done some client interviews, and they would all verify that we’ve saved their loved ones’ lives.

So, coming back to our email from Miriam. So, that’s if your dad’s sister thinks that it’s “not in your dad’s best interest” to live, then she might want to sign a DNR but I don’t believe that she’s legally allowed to, but the hospital will hospitals will often use any means nowadays to empty ICU beds whether that’s by pushing people out to LTAC (Long Term Acute Care), I know that you’re in the U.S., or by letting them pass away.

So, I’m glad you’ve spotted the issue here and because you’ve spotted the issue, you still have time to turn this around.

Now, my advice is to the hospital administration and show them proof that you are next of kin, and you are the power of attorney or legal guardian, and that you are potentially closer to your dad than your aunt. I don’t know, of course. Maybe there is a reason why your aunt is in a position to sign the DNR papers. But if that’s not the case, then you should be asking the hospital for their policies around who can sign a DNR and, and I can assure you it’s usually only the next of kin or legal guardian.

The other thing that you could do, you could consult a family lawyer in a situation like that. You could consult a family lawyer to help you with his situation, who should be the power of attorney and who can sign a DNR. I argue that you can revoke the DNR being the daughter of your dad. I argue you can reverse that, but you got to take action, and you also have to take responsibility.

We have helped hundreds and hundreds of members and clients over the years to save their loved one’s lives or improve their lives instantly with our consulting and advocacy, that’s why we’ve created the membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. You can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com by clicking on the membership link or if you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email and we answer all questions, intensive care related.

You also have exclusive access to 21 e-books and 21 videos that I’ve personally written and recorded. The access to all of those resources will help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment always.

I also do one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I handhold you through this once in a lifetime situation that you simply cannot afford to get wrong. I also talk to doctors and nurses directly with you or on your behalf and I ask all the questions that you have not even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one, critically ill in intensive care. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams.

We also do medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. We also do medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are suspecting medical negligence.

All of that, you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply send us an email to [email protected] with your questions.

If you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, click the like button, click the notification bell, comment below what do you want to see next, what questions and insights you have from this video.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on the show. You will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, or if you are a subscriber to my email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com.

Thank you so much for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.

Take care for now.

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