Nurses and health support workers' views on cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a hospice setting

This paper reports on a study which took place in a 15-bed hospice and provides an account of the views of registered nurses (n = 12) and health support workers (n = 10) in relation to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within a hospice setting. The study was part of a larger ethnographic research project being conducted in the hospice when the British Medical Association/Royal College of Nursing and the Resuscitation Council UK (Resuscitation Council UK, 2001) published guidelines urging all establishments that face decisions about attempting CPR to develop local policies. The guidelines provided the impetus for the present study, the aim of which was to explore staff responses to the introduction of a CPR policy in the hospice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on a purposive sample of hospice staff. The findings raise issues about the implementation of CPR in a context where it was felt that the patient should be allowed to die a natural death.