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Liverpool Care Pathway 'set to be phased out' Liverpool Care Pathway 'should be phased out'
(about 7 hours later)
An independent review is expected to say the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), developed to support patients as they near death, should be phased out. The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), developed to support patients as they near death, should be phased out, an independent review is expected to say.
The system, widely used in the NHS, can involve the withdrawal of medication, food and fluids. The system can involve withdrawal of medication, food and fluids.
The review is set to say the LCP can give people a peaceful and dignified death but there have been problems with the way it has been implemented. It can offer a peaceful and dignified death but there have been problems with its implementation, the government-commissioned review is set to say.
The review was set up last year and led by Baroness Julia Neuberger. Health officials said the review was expected to recommend the LCP should be phased out within six to 12 months.
Hasten death 'Worrying standards'
The Liverpool Care Pathway was developed in the 1990s to provide a model of best practice in the care of dying patients, to try to ensure their final days and hours were dignified and peaceful. The system was developed at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the city's Marie Curie hospice in the 1990s to provide a model of best practice in the care of dying patients.
It can mean an end to invasive tests or treatment or feeding through tubes, although this should be discussed with the patient, family or carer wherever possible. It is widely used in the NHS.
It can mean an end to invasive tests, treatment or feeding through tubes that is deemed to cause unnecessary suffering at the end of life - but it should be discussed with the patient, family or carer where possible.
The Department of Health in England set up an independent review amid fears the LCP was being used to hasten death, to clear beds and save money, and that patients or their families were not being consulted.The Department of Health in England set up an independent review amid fears the LCP was being used to hasten death, to clear beds and save money, and that patients or their families were not being consulted.
The review was asked to focus on the use of the LCP model rather than re-evaluating its basic merits. The review, led by crossbench peer Baroness Julia Neuberger, heard evidence from patients, families and health professionals.
But officials said the review team encountered numerous examples of poor implementation and worrying standards in care, and so were likely to conclude it needed to be replaced. It was asked to focus on the use of the LCP model rather than re-evaluating its basic merits.
The findings are due to be published in detail on Monday. But officials said the review team encountered "numerous examples of poor implementation and worrying standards in care", and were likely to conclude it needed to be replaced.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "The independent review into end of life care system the Liverpool Care Pathway, commissioned last year by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb and backed by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, is likely to recommend that the LCP is phased out over the next six to 12 months. A Department of Health spokesman said: "The independent review into end of life care system the Liverpool Care Pathway, commissioned last year by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb and backed by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, is likely to recommend that the LCP is phased out over the next six to 12 months."
"The review panel, set up by ministers following reports from families concerned about the care of their loved ones, is due to report back on Monday. The statement gave no indication of what might replace the LCP.
"It is expected to say that when used properly the LCP can give people a dignified and peaceful death, but that they found numerous examples of poor implementation and worrying standards in care which mean it needs to be replaced." But Mr Lamb told the Daily Telegraph: "We need a new system of better end-of-life care tailored to the needs of individual patients and involving their families."
Unnecessary suffering 'Unacceptable cases'
The review was ordered by the government in November last year after the LCP came under intense media scrutiny. He ordered the review in November last year amid intense media scrutiny of the LCP following criticism from patients' families.
At the time, Mr Lamb said he was concerned about the "unacceptable" cases that had come to light. At the time, he said he was concerned about the "unacceptable" cases that had come to light.
About 500,000 people die in the UK each year, with more than half passing away in hospital. Mr Lamb told the Saturday's Telegraph: "We took those concerns very seriously and decided that we needed to establish the facts of what was happening so we could act where needed."
The LCP was developed at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the city's Marie Curie hospice to relieve suffering in dying patients, setting out principles for their treatment in their final days and hours. Last month members of the British Medical Association said patients may have been put on the LCP when it was not appropriate because hospitals were offered financial incentives to use it.
It allows doctors to withdraw treatment or tests that would be deemed to cause unnecessary suffering at the end of life. The review's findings are due to be published in full on Monday.
This can include anything from CPR to artificial feeding through tubes. The use of sedation to alleviate distress is often used.
The aim is to allow patients to die with as much dignity and as little distress as possible.
However, there were reports of some patients being put on the pathway and then being taken off.
Doctors at the recent British Medical Association conference also said dying patients may have stayed on the LCP for weeks without follow-up.
And relatives complained that their loved ones had been put on to the regime without their consent.