THE husband of a former Enfield care home manager is taking a hospital to court after it put a “do not resuscitate” order on her against her will.

When Janet Tracey found out about the instruction she told staff at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge, to remove it because she felt it was not her time, lawyers say.

But it was put back on the former Trent Lodge Care Home manager’s notes without her knowledge even though she was fully competent on March 5 and she died two days later.

Her husband David Tracey is launching a judicial review against the trust that runs the hospital and health secretary Andrew Lansley, claiming the trust’s policy is unlawful, through solicitors Frances Swaine and Merry Varney.

He said: “My wife cared for the elderly all her life and her treatment in Addenbrooke’s caused unnecessary suffering to her, our daughters and me.

“She would have taken great pride in seeking a change to the system which would mean future patients and their families are not forced to endure the same experience and I hope that, together with Fran and Merry, we can bring a positive result from her tragic death.”

Mrs Tracey was diagnose with lung cancer in early February and was about to start chemotherapy when she was involved in a car crash and was admitted to hospital on February 19.

Her husband’s lawyers say the trust’s policy is “confusing and inaccessible”, stating both that the rights of the patient are absolute and that the final say is with the clinician.

At the moment local trusts are left to write their own policies and the law firm is pushing for the Government to give standard guidance for NHS managers across the country.

It says around 80 per cent of people who die in hospital have “Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Orders” (DNACPRO) imposed on them at the time.

James Woodman, a spokesman for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital, said: “We do not agree with the account given by the family, but we cannot debate the issues involved because we are subject to ongoing judicial review proceedings.

“Our clinicians followed the DNACPR policy, which remains in place.”