Fighting for a peaceful, pain-free death

People with cancer die a painful death. These people need to be put on the Liverpool Care Pathway. But a national audit revealed some lacks in its quality.

The terminally-ill persons are scared to be put on the LCP. This is a NHS palliative care program for patients who will die soon. This care program includes nutrition, hydration, and everything the person needs. And they also give them morphine and sedatives to stop the pain for a moment.

But in September, a group of doctors wrote to The Daily Telegraph. They said LCP caused a lot of deaths. For example, they don’t feed certain people. The same month, there has been a national audit. One of its results was that more than 25% of families didn’t know when a family member were put on the LCP.

Thanks to this audit, the architects of the LCP will give a revised version of the guidelines on Wednesday. One of the new guidelines, is that the family will know when their relatives will be put on the LCP.

According to some doctors, they do what’s best. So when they stop feeding the sick people, it’s due to inability to cope with the food and fluids. And If they continued to feed them, their lungs would waterlog. They say it’s just a misunderstanding. But the clinicians should be educated for some matters. For example, they shouldn’t give up op patients too quickly. Because there can always be a chance of surviving it.


I think, even if the terminally-ill person is dying, you should try to help him/her. The clinicians always keep in mind they’re very sick. So they don’t have any hope, which there actually is. Every individual is unique, which means they don’t react the same way. It would be better if they’d examine every person. I know it takes a lot of time. But it could save lives. In addition, I think it’s unbelievable that they don’t tell relatives when they moved onto the LCP. It’s still someone you love and respect. So they should at least give the information, the family needs. I’m glad they did this audit. Now, people think twice before they send their family member there.


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