The Liverpool Care Pathway is to be abolished following a Government-commissioned review which heard that hospital staff wrongly interpreted its guidance for care of the dying, leading to stories of patients who were drugged and deprived of fluids in their last weeks of life. An independent committee has recommended its closure. The Government has ordered hospitals to carry out immediate reviews of their practices and announced that the Liverpool Care Pathway will be phased out. Its defenders say the LCP offers people a peaceful, pain-free death. But it is only pain-free because of the sedation. Dehydration and starvation are normally painful. The critics accuse doctors of using the LCP to hasten death and free up beds. Although the Pathway was supposed to be used only in cases where recovery was not possible, elderly patients suffering from non-terminal illnesses have found themselves at risk from doctors illegally practising euthanasia.

Pray: that this answer to our prayers will lead to a transformation in health recovery for those in need. (Ph.3:21)

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