Scottish COVID-19 inquiry Impact hearing| Health and social care|10 May 2024 (morning session)

Today's highlights feature a unique IN PERSON testimony from Anna McPherson supported by husband Donald in relation to disturbing DNACPR orders during lockdown.

NB: This is the only testimony at the Scottish COVID inquiry where the individual in question has appeared themselves to give oral evidence. (Anna McPherson).

I could find no mainstream or alternative media articles of this moving testimony.

Introduction

Anna and Donald participated in the "Let's Be Heard" outreach in Scotland online by email to provide evidence about their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anna has suffered severe mental health issues over the last 36 years and has a complex medical history including incidents of attempted suicide. She also has a nerve condition within her neck which restricts her ability to walk distance.

Lockdown DNACPR Call April 2020

Here we discover Anna’s GP called her ‘‘out of the blue’’ to convince her to sign a DNR.

‘I was taken aback…i said i don’t think my family would like that…she said but what about what you want ?…as if i would want to die in that way?..basically that your life is not worth living.’

'I just said no..i was shocked..i couldn't believe what she was saying'

'I felt suicidal..if my daughter hadn’t been there i might have done something to myself…it was just dreadful.’

Family concerns

Here Anna’s husband Donald speaks about his concerns surrounding this DNACPR call and that he knows ‘‘for certain’’ this has happened to other people.

‘Cutting Anna’s family out of the discussion struck me as VERY wrong…this is not what a GP should be doing.’

‘It’s pretty obvious something was going on.’

COVID policies the equivalent to Nazi Germany

An admission in Anna’s statement is chilling !!

DNACPR continued

Mr.McPherson elaborates further on the DNACPR highlighting the real possibility Anna could have agreed to the request given her fragile mental health status.

Mr.McPherson felt the selective DNR process was a form of involuntary euthanasia.

1930’s Germany

In Anna’s statement we see another comment on COVID protocols being similar to the Nazi eugenics program of the 1930’s.

Concluding remarks

On the 8 September 2021 Anna contracted ‘COVID’ and was hospitilised but thankfully survived. She was discharged from hospital on the 29 September 2021.

Anna states she has been struggling to recover from the trauma of the DNR experience and has lost trust in her doctor.

‘I don’t think somebody my age is beyond the pale..i know older people that didn’t get a phone call like that…

…i was picked because of my mental health…they think your life is not worth living…which is kinda of shocking and distressing.’

Mr.McPherson wants to know how the DNR process was organised to being with and states in relation to the entire experience:

‘It’s not the finest hour in general practise.’

Final statement remarks

‘‘It is extraordinary, i am not old, i am not terminally ill.’’

Additional:

It might be worth considering if we don’t learn the lessons for history we are doomed to repeat them.

Full study in links.

End

Links:

Full video-Youtbe-Scottish COVID-19 inquiry-Impact hearing | Health and social care | 10 May 2024 (morning session)

Full statement-Donald McPherson- https://www.covid19inquiry.scot/sites/default/files/ev-documents/sci-wt0412-000001.pdf

Full statement-Anna McPherson- https://www.covid19inquiry.scot/sites/default/files/ev-documents/sci-wt0494-000001.pdf

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304120?journalCode=ajph