The mother of a Perth schoolgirl with cancer was left shocked and angry after a medical centre called her to ask about Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) measures for her daughter.
Jane Douglas, mum of 12-year-old Lily, has slammed the unsolicited call from the Yellow Practice at Drumhar Health Centre in Perth as unprofessional and questioned the effects such conversations have on patients.
Lily’s mum was left reeling by the manner of the call, in which she claims the health centre staff member, who she did not know, began with the sentence “I’ve got a funny question to ask you.”
Jane said: “It was a lady that I have never heard of, she has nothing to do with Lily’s care.
“It was quite a shock. She started with ‘I’ve got a funny question to ask you.’
“They said ‘would you like her to be resuscitated?’ And I said, ‘sorry, funny?’
“I said I obviously wanted her to be resuscitated. It was really unprofessional.
“I was that taken aback the call was ended. I was gobsmacked. I came off the phone and I was so angry. It was surreal. I wasn’t expecting it.”
Jane raised concerns about the manner of the call, which did not come from Lily’s doctor and the effects such a phone call could have on elderly patients.
She said: “What if that’s an elderly woman sitting by herself getting that call?
“If they are doing it to Lily then they could it to them. What would that do for their mental health?
“It’s not something anyone should be getting a call about. ”
Jane said she understands in some circumstances these questions have to be asked but did not believe Lily’s case had been handled appropriately.
She said: “If she was on a ventilator and was really bad I could have understood being pulled aside.
“It wasn’t as if she was in hospital and had been for months and wasn’t getting better.”
Pete Wishart, SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, spoke to the practice at the health centre.
The politician said it was the Scottish Government’s advice that such calls to do not come unexpectedly and are made by health professionals with a prior relationship with the patient.
Mr Wishart said: “I’ve had a few of our constituents getting in touch about getting DNR calls out of the blue.
“It is of great concern that medical centres are calling people up without any notice.
“It really concerns me that this seems to go against the advice from the Scottish Government.”
The Yellow Practice at Drumhar Health Centre did not respond when contacted for comment.
