Liverpool Care Pathway review published

The Liverpool Care Pathway should be phased out and replaced by an individual end of life care plan, an independent review led by Baroness Julia Neuberger recommended today. The review was commissioned by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb in January 2013, because of serious concerns arising from reports that patients were wrongly being denied nutrition and hydration whilst being placed on the Pathway. Senior Rabbi at the West London Synagogue and crossbench peer, Baroness Neuberger and her panel now recommend that use of the Liverpool Care Pathway should be phased out over the next six to 12 months, and be replaced by a personalised end of life care plan, backed up by good practice guidance specific to disease groups. The Review panel recognised that, when applied correctly, the Liverpool Care Pathway does help patients have a dignified and pain-free death. And they support the principles underpinning it. However, they heard of too many cases where the LCP was simply being used as a ‘tick box’ exercise, its users failing to take account of a patient’s individual needs. The report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-liverpool-care-pathway-for-dying-patients .