Collaborative Working to Improve Care: Banking DNA in Unexpected Adult death
Before the appointment of two arrhythmia nurse practitioners (ANPs) to a district general hospital it was identified that despite having a number of families with genetic disorders, no proper services existed for the assessment, management and support of patients and families. A process mapping event highlighted what services needed to be developed. One area that was identified was that samples of DNA were not being banked in the unexplained death of a person aged under 40 years. Through collaborative working an appropriate consent form was developed for these circumstances. This has resulted in the successful banking of DNA in new cases of sudden unexplained death in the young.