Liverpool Care Pathway - By Any Name . . .

Euthanasia: More cause for concern

ICN and Scottish Catholic Observer carry the following worrying report -

Dr. Clare Walker,  president of the Catholic Medical Association, has declared that euthanasia is being widely practiced in the NHS.

One development that has enabled this to happen is the adoption of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP). Dr. Walker also believes the misuse of the LCP is leading to what, by any other name, is euthanasia.

The LCP is nationwide -

The scheme has now been rolled out across the country, its application depending on widely differing levels of ethical interpretation. “If it is used out of context, then it could be used to the detriment of patients," she says.

"A patient comes into a resuscitation bay and it is not always clear if a condition is acute and can be treated,” said Dr Walker, who recalls that in some hospitals the LCP has become known as the Lazarus Care Pathway due to the number of people who have been put on it inappropriately, are not moribound, and subsequently need to be actively treated.

A colleague of Dr Walker’s did a survey on the basis of crematorium records that found, in 23 per cent of all deaths of people in one city placed on the LCP, there had been no definite diagnosis at any stage.

Dr Walker says she is regularly contacted by distressed healthcare professionals and managers who describe their experience of witnessing repeated instances of unofficial, active euthanasia in their local areas. 

The LCP is going global -

The National LCP Office NZ was established in November 2008 to coordinate the sustainable implementation of the LCP in New Zealand.

The Australian Best Care of the Dying Network is seeking implementation of the Liverpool Integrated Care Pathway (LCP) into key health care settings within Queensland, ultimately expanding the network to include any health care setting in Australia expressing an interest in using the LCP.

Time to stand up and be counted:

Please register your opposition to this madness -

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