A pensioner says a do not resuscitate (DNR) order was signed by doctors without his permission - leaving him to fear he would die alone in hospital.

Pat Burke, 82, from Deal, had visited the QEQM hospital in Margate for a routine appointment to check his pacemaker when he had a seizure in the waiting room.

Doctors and nurses rushed to his aid and he was taken onto a ward to be monitored.

But when his wife of 60 years, Betty, visited the following day, she says she was shocked to discover a DNR form had been signed by doctors.

A DNR is a medical order that instructs health care providers not to do CPR if a patient's breathing stops, or if their heart stops beating.

The document, seen by KentOnline, says the decision was discussed with the couple and that Mr and Mrs Burke were in agreement. But they dispute this.

They say a DNR order goes against their religious beliefs.

Mr Burke says the decision should be his alone and has vowed not to return to the hospital.

"When I saw Pat, he said to me 'I'm going to die'", recalls Mrs Burke.

"He said the doctor has told me I need a DNR but we have always said we do not believe in them.

"He did this form while I wasn't there.

"When Pat has a seizure, it takes him two or three days to catch up with himself.

"On the form it says 'does the patient have capacity to talk about CPR?'. They circled yes - but he didn't, because he wouldn’t have understood.

"It says on the form it was discussed with me and that I was in agreement but I wasn't."

Mr Burke, a former Lord Mayor, and Sheriff of Canterbury says he has no memory of his visit to hospital on December 21. His seizures, caused by blood clots on the brain from past sporting injuries, result in short-term memory loss.

The former Sir Roger Manwood's School pupil added: "I consider a DNR a form of suicide and I don't think you should do that.

"I might not be well, I can't run any more, I can't box any more, but I want to be here.

"If there is any chance of staying alive I think you should take it because I don't think it's fair on your family, or anyone else..."

"I’ve still got a life, I can still have a laugh, there is no reason why I should be dead. But I didn't have a choice.

"If there is any chance of staying alive I think you should take it because I don't think it's fair on your family, or anyone else.

"I just couldn’t understand how this had come about.

"What worries me is that I’ve been to that hospital many times since 1997. I won't go back there now."

Guidance on the NHS website says a DNR is a medical treatment decision that can be made by a doctor even if the patient does not agree.

This is because a doctor may think that CPR will not help a patient live longer, or that it could prolong or cause suffering.

Despite this, Mr Burke feels it should still be a patient's choice.

"You mustn't take your own life and you mustn't allow anyone else to take a life," he said.

"I’m alive because there are some tremendous doctors who have kept me alive and kept my heart ticking away.

"I'm not going to let somebody stop that and why should I?

"If you went outside and killed someone, you’d be done for murder.

"There is a lot in life and it doesn’t end because someone decided you’ve got to die, that’s not the way it works."

Sarah Shingler, chief nursing & midwifery officer for the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs QEQM, said: “We are very sorry for the concern caused to Mr Burke and his family and we will contact him to discuss his care.”