I am a Student Paramedic with the East Of England Ambulance NHS Trust and this essay will look reflectively at an incident I attended during the course of my duties. The assignment will reflect on the moral, ethical and legal aspects of pre-hospital care that challenged me during this particular emergency.
Reflective practice is a requirement of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC, 2014). Rolfe, Freshwater and Jasper (2001) state, “we learn by doing and realising what came of what we did”.
For this reflection, I am using Gibbs’ reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988). It is a simplistic model used by many paramedics who are new to reflection (Richardson, 2012).
All patient details are anonymous in accordance with HCPC standards (see appendix), …show more content…
Whilst working with an Emergency Medical Technician we were dispatched, along with a paramedic on a Rapid Response Vehicle, to a 93-year-old lady who was experiencing cardiac arrest. The patient was bed bound with advanced dementia requiring around the clock care. On arrival the live-in carer greeted us and stated that her charge had stopped breathing a short time ago. The carer was visibly distressed and was unable to state precisely how long ago this was. As this was an elderly patient we also asked if there was a Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNACPR) order in place. Again the carer was unable to inform us if this was the case. We did ascertain that the patient was not suffering a terminal illness where death was imminent & unavoidable (JRCALC, 2013). My colleagues and I assessed the situation and concluded attempting resuscitation was in order (Institute of Health and Care Development (IHCD), 2003). We moved the patient from the bed to floor and promptly began chest compressions whilst attaching the defibrillator pads and inserting an airway. It was then that the carer returned to the room with the formal DNACPR and our attempt at cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was withdrawn in accordance with the wishes of the
Reflective practice is a requirement of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC, 2014). Rolfe, Freshwater and Jasper (2001) state, “we learn by doing and realising what came of what we did”.
For this reflection, I am using Gibbs’ reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988). It is a simplistic model used by many paramedics who are new to reflection (Richardson, 2012).
All patient details are anonymous in accordance with HCPC standards (see appendix), …show more content…
Whilst working with an Emergency Medical Technician we were dispatched, along with a paramedic on a Rapid Response Vehicle, to a 93-year-old lady who was experiencing cardiac arrest. The patient was bed bound with advanced dementia requiring around the clock care. On arrival the live-in carer greeted us and stated that her charge had stopped breathing a short time ago. The carer was visibly distressed and was unable to state precisely how long ago this was. As this was an elderly patient we also asked if there was a Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNACPR) order in place. Again the carer was unable to inform us if this was the case. We did ascertain that the patient was not suffering a terminal illness where death was imminent & unavoidable (JRCALC, 2013). My colleagues and I assessed the situation and concluded attempting resuscitation was in order (Institute of Health and Care Development (IHCD), 2003). We moved the patient from the bed to floor and promptly began chest compressions whilst attaching the defibrillator pads and inserting an airway. It was then that the carer returned to the room with the formal DNACPR and our attempt at cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was withdrawn in accordance with the wishes of the