More care, less pathway.

A Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway

Early in 2013 Norman Lamb MP, Minister of State for Care Support, asked Baroness Julia Neuberger to chair a panel to independently review of the use and experience of the LCP in England. Evidence considered by the panel included written and oral submissions from members of the public and health professionals with experience of the LCP, as well as professional bodies and other organisations.

Published under the title, ‘More Care, Less Pathway’, the report summarises the review panel’s findings.Among the panel’s observations are that “the lack of evidence makes it particularly difficult to identify whether negative consequences suggested to be associated with pathways for managing the dying phase in end of life care are directly associated with (a) actual pathway-based care, (b) poor implementation of pathway-based care, and/or (c) emotional consequences of illness, death and bereavement”. The panel’s proposals include a review of all pathways as well as the replacement of the Liverpool Care Pathway with an ‘end-of-life care plan’ and the creation of a national alliance on end-of-life care.

More-Care-Less-Pathway-A-Review-of-the-Liverpool-Care-Pathway

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