<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP) was an integrated care pathway for patients in the final days or hours of life, developed at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in conjunction with the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute, Liverpool. The LCP became increasingly the normative style of care for patients in the terminal stage across NHS England from the 1990s onwards. Following significant questions raised in Parliament, by the media and other stakeholders, an independent review panel was established under Baroness Neuberger in 2013 to investigate the LCP. The findings of the panel were published as <italic>More Care Less Pathway: a Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway</italic> identifying significant failings in the delivery of the LCP thus leading to it being phased out some six months later. Rather than being euthanasia through the backdoor, many of the criticisms of the LCP and its poor implementation are indicative of poor communication, limited knowledge of the dying process and a paucity of death education.</p></abstract>

The Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP) was an integrated care pathway for patients in the final days or hours of life, developed at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in conjunction with the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute, Liverpool. The LCP became increasingly the normative style of care for patients in the terminal stage across NHS England from the 1990s onwards. Following significant questions raised in Parliament, by the media and other stakeholders, an independent review panel was established under Baroness Neuberger in 2013 to investigate the LCP. The findings of the panel were published as More Care Less Pathway: a Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway identifying significant failings in the delivery of the LCP thus leading to it being phased out some six months later. Rather than being euthanasia through the backdoor, many of the criticisms of the LCP and its poor implementation are indicative of poor communication, limited knowledge of the dying process and a paucity of death education.

The Liverpool Care Pathway for the dying patient: Euthanasia through the back door, or the sign of poor death education?

The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies

Ethics & Bioethics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP) was an integrated care pathway for patients in the final days or hours of life, developed at the Royal...

The Liverpool Care Pathway for the dying patient: Euthanasia through the back door, or the sign of poor death education?

Published Online: Jun 12, 2020

Page range: 40 - 47

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2020-0006

Keywords
The Liverpool Care Pathway, communication, culture shift & death education

© 2020 Allan R. Jones, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Liverpool Care Pathway for the dying patient: Euthanasia through the back door, or the sign of poor death education?

Published Online: Jun 12, 2020

Page range: 40 - 47

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2020-0006

KeywordsThe Liverpool Care Pathway, communication, culture shift & death education

© 2020 Allan R. Jones, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
The Liverpool Care Pathway, communication, culture shift & death education