DNR notice violated woman’s human rights

The widower of a terminally ill hospital patient has won a landmark ruling that her human rights were violated because she was not consulted before a "do not resuscitate" notice was placed on her records.

The Court of Appeal was asked to intervene by David Tracey, who said his wife Janet, aged 63, was subjected to an unlawful DNR notice at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

Such notices are intended to ensure that a patient dies in a dignified and peaceful manner, but they have become the subject of controversy.