Liverpool Care Pathway: what went wrong?

The recent media storm over the Liverpool Care Pathway has obscured the progress doctors and nurses have made over the past decades in the UK in improving care for patients who are near death. Since the LCP was developed, patients in busy hospitals and other institutions are  less likely to be left to die in pain and discomfort.

The Pathway itself is simply a framework which reminds professionals to consider, and document, the process of care for people in the last days of life. Without it, some professionals may struggle to shift their focus to important aspects of care such as comfort measures, pain control, communicating with, and supporting, the family, carers and friends. It does not replace clinical judgement, and it is not irreversible – if the diagnosis of dying turns out to be premature, patients can be taken off the pathway.

However, it is clear from recent media stories that relatives believe that some seriously ill patients have died prematurely as a result of being treated, or mistreated, under the Pathway, and these concerns should be taken seriously and investigated.