EoL Interactions between Relatives and 999 Staff and who should complete and sign Records

Late last year, a Paramedic contact asked me if I was familiar with the Ambitions Framework, so I hunted it down.

There is something in Ambitions, which so far as I can see suggests that patients should be allowed to complete, and to sign, section 3 of the ReSPECT form - which is not something 'ReSPECT' seem willing to allow. NHS England and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, not to mention the General Medical Council, are 'signed-up to' Ambitions.

It turned out, that the piece I wrote is very long - and that issue with a patient completing and signing the section of a ReSPECT form which details the patient's 'preferences and wishes' is detailed within it. Much of the PDF, examines 'trust': in particular, whether 999 Paramedics should default to trusting the word of the family-carer who phoned 999.

Anyway, I hope my piece 'hangs together', should anyone care to read it.