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I am not the author of this blog, but it is of such importance that I feel it deserves greater coverage than one appearance on My Telegraph blog.
There was a blog on this subject a couple of weeks ago
concerning the Liverpool Care Pathway program and it’s inherent dangers. I
can't find it right now, perhaps the author of the blog might remember. There
was criticism of it for suggesting that doctors and nurses were needlessly
killing patients, partly to save money, partly to free up beds.
I came across some information that might add to the debate and I have copied some of it here.
On Saturday a British newspaper web site told the story of 82-year-old Patricia Greenwood, who was put on the Liverpool Care Pathway by doctors in Blackpool, who removed all her feeding tubes and drips.
But then her family defied orders and gave her water, which sparked the beginning of a remarkable recovery. Now she is planning to go on a world cruise.
Earlier this year neurologist Professor Patrick Pullicino from the University of Kent, claimed that death on the LCP was a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' and a form of backdoor euthanasia.
A woman tells that her father suffered a severe stroke caused by a blood clot in his brain. 'All fluids were removed from him and we were told he was in the final phase of his life,' she wrote.
'All we were told was that there was no hope for him; it was a matter of time before he died. Eight days later, he opened his eyes and proved everyone wrong by pulling round. Two years on from this he is back at home, although in a wheelchair and with some loss of speech.'
Another woman's 85-year-old mother was admitted to hospital with an infected gall bladder. The following day doctors told her, to her shock, that her mother was gravely ill and had no chance of survival.
The doctors, who included three consultants, told her that if she did not agree to the Pathway she would be adding to her mother's distress and misery. She signed the form - only to be horrified subsequently to find her mother highly disorientated, agitated and distressed from lack of fluids and treatment.
'I compelled the nursing staff to restore hydration and medications, or take full responsibility for the outcome if they failed to. I also took matters into my own hands by feeding her natural yogurt, soft foods and spooning water into her - something which was to continue until she was released three days later, having been restored to full health, cracking jokes and saying goodbye to those who were unfortunately left probably to suffer the same fate.
'A year has since passed. My mother has a robust appetite and has never succumbed to the "impending doom" I was led to believe she could not escape.'
Another woman's father was in a nursing home waiting for surgery to amputate his legs following complications from cancer.
The man's daughter was called by a nurse who told her that her father was on the Pathway, and who then overrode her objections to that decision. Distraught, the daughter wrote to her father's surgeon begging him to intervene to save her father's life - which he did.
'Dad had his amputation and has made a good recovery. I visited him today; he was sitting up asking for sweets. We talked about him coming to us for the Christmas hols. It really could have been a different story. He's my dad, he is 83 and has a right to choose to live.'
I came across some information that might add to the debate and I have copied some of it here.
On Saturday a British newspaper web site told the story of 82-year-old Patricia Greenwood, who was put on the Liverpool Care Pathway by doctors in Blackpool, who removed all her feeding tubes and drips.
But then her family defied orders and gave her water, which sparked the beginning of a remarkable recovery. Now she is planning to go on a world cruise.
Earlier this year neurologist Professor Patrick Pullicino from the University of Kent, claimed that death on the LCP was a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' and a form of backdoor euthanasia.
A woman tells that her father suffered a severe stroke caused by a blood clot in his brain. 'All fluids were removed from him and we were told he was in the final phase of his life,' she wrote.
'All we were told was that there was no hope for him; it was a matter of time before he died. Eight days later, he opened his eyes and proved everyone wrong by pulling round. Two years on from this he is back at home, although in a wheelchair and with some loss of speech.'
Another woman's 85-year-old mother was admitted to hospital with an infected gall bladder. The following day doctors told her, to her shock, that her mother was gravely ill and had no chance of survival.
The doctors, who included three consultants, told her that if she did not agree to the Pathway she would be adding to her mother's distress and misery. She signed the form - only to be horrified subsequently to find her mother highly disorientated, agitated and distressed from lack of fluids and treatment.
'I compelled the nursing staff to restore hydration and medications, or take full responsibility for the outcome if they failed to. I also took matters into my own hands by feeding her natural yogurt, soft foods and spooning water into her - something which was to continue until she was released three days later, having been restored to full health, cracking jokes and saying goodbye to those who were unfortunately left probably to suffer the same fate.
'A year has since passed. My mother has a robust appetite and has never succumbed to the "impending doom" I was led to believe she could not escape.'
Another woman's father was in a nursing home waiting for surgery to amputate his legs following complications from cancer.
The man's daughter was called by a nurse who told her that her father was on the Pathway, and who then overrode her objections to that decision. Distraught, the daughter wrote to her father's surgeon begging him to intervene to save her father's life - which he did.
'Dad had his amputation and has made a good recovery. I visited him today; he was sitting up asking for sweets. We talked about him coming to us for the Christmas hols. It really could have been a different story. He's my dad, he is 83 and has a right to choose to live.'
And finally, 'Whilst trying to have a balanced view on the overall care of my father,' wrote one woman, 'the desperate fear and anguish on his face as staff talked about his imminent death in front of him will never be forgotten. I remain devastated that we could not help him. I feel that the LCP is unethical and in my father's case was illegal.'
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