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Experienced nurses should be allowed to make the decision not to resuscitate patients, according to new guidelines.

New guidelines for nursesConsultants and GPs were the only medical staff who could make the decision until the guidance was issued yesterday by the British Medical Association (BMA), the Royal College of Nursing and the Resuscitation Council.

The guidelines say, if local policy allows, "suitably experienced" nurses should be allowed to make a judgment about whether to use cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

The reality of CPR is very different to how it is portrayed on television dramas, and the real-life survival rate is much lower, the Resuscitation Council said.

The new guidelines aim to prevent the "undignified and unnecessary" resuscitation of patients who would not benefit.

The document says each patient should be individually assessed and a plan of treatment communicated to all healthcare professionals who come into contact with them.

Dr David Pitcher, honorary secretary of the Resuscitation Council, said: "The updated guidance states clearly that it is not always appropriate to distress a person who is dying, perhaps in the last few days of life, by discussing attempted resuscitation when clearly CPR would not be successful.

"The survival rate may be as low as 5% in certain individuals. The outcomes are extremely variable but they are nothing like what we see on TV."

GPs have given the announcement a cautious welcome.

Dr Carol Cooper told Sky News the new guidelines would help improve transparency, communication and record-keeping.

"At the moment nurses sometimes start CPR and the doctor in charge arrives and says 'no, you better stop that'.

"We're talking about nurses who are well trained in how to do resuciation anyway.

"It's been thought through and what the guidelines are calling for is really a much more transparent prcoess."

The new guidelines were also welcomed by the Patients Association.

"Nurses have always been closer to patients who are severely ill than doctors. They will know more about the personality of the patient and their attitude towards deaths during a severe illness," a spokesman said.

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