The statements made in this article
are contested. The reports in the national press are not at all misleading. But
what does this mean...?
"Before the decision is made, there needs to be discussions with the patient’s family and there needs to be an acceptance that the patient is dying. The Liverpool Care Pathway only comes in when that recognition has been made."
The family are taken aside by members
of the care team, coerced by gentle persuasion and by
authoritative argument, and finally submit to the power of medical opinion and
the temerity of arrogance that underlies it.
Here is Kent Online -
Medway matron backs 'assisted death pathway'
A senior matron at Medway Maritime
Hospital has defended the
controversial care plan that has been branded an "assisted death
pathway".
A review into the Liverpool Care
Pathway (LCP) is to be carried out by the Association for Palliative Medicine
amid claims that it can actively hasten death.
The LCP
was developed at the Royal
Liverpool University
Hospital and the city’s
Marie Curie hospice to ease suffering in dying patients, setting out a
framework for how they are to be treated.
It involves the withdrawal from
patients of treatments or tests which doctors believe could cause distress and
offer no benefit to them.
The review by the Association for
Palliative Medicine comes as several families have said their loved ones were
put on the pathway without their consent. Graeme Hendry, end of life care
matron at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said discussions will always take place
with a patient’s family.
He added: "The ultimate
decision lies with the senior doctor in charge of the patient’s care but they
will hold discussions with the patient where appropriate and always with the
family.
"Before the decision is made,
there needs to be discussions with the patient’s family and there needs to be
an acceptance that the patient is dying. The Liverpool Care Pathway only comes
in when that recognition has been made."
Mr Hendry said reports in the
national press had been misleading and that the Liverpool Care Pathway did not
mean a stop to all treatment. He explained: "We assess each treatment to determine
if it is invasive, uncomfortable or unnecessary for a patient in the last hours
or days of their life.
"Blood tests which can be
painful and invasive is an example of something we would look at."
Neurologist Dr Patrick Pullicino
claimed LCP was an "assisted death pathway". According to Dr
Pullicino, patients are being placed on the LCP without clear evidence that
they are close to death.
Mr Hendry said: "The
Liverpool Care Pathway is certainly not euthanasia. It does not hasten death.
"It ensures the right type of
treatment is used of the end of life.
"The comfort and dignity of
the patients remain the key goals of care."
Tuesday, December 04 2012
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