Liverpool Care Pathway – And The Culture Of ‘Non-intervention’

According to LCP documents, loss of interest in and a reduced need for food when a person stops eating and drinking is part of the normal dying process…

Is caring become so dispassionate and detached, so disconnected and dysfunctional? This from the Mail Online –

Four patients die thirsty or starving EVERY DAY on our hospital wards show damning new statistics

·        Data shows 1,316 deaths were linked to or directly caused by dehydration and malnutrition in 2010

·        Figures are far higher than in 2000, when 862 deaths were recorded

·        One hospital forced to prescribe drinking water for its patients

 By SOPHIE BORLAND

Four patients are dying hungry and thirsty on hospital wards every day, shocking figures reveal.

Dehydration or malnutrition directly caused or was linked to 1,316 deaths last year in NHS trusts and privately run hospitals.

The revelation follows a series of damning reports accusing staff of failing to address the most basic needs of the vulnerable, particularly the elderly.

Officials who compiled the figures pointed out that not all deaths could be directly blamed on poor care. Some illnesses such as Alzheimer’s or certain forms of cancer make it very difficult for patients to eat or drink.

But campaigners said that no one in this day and age should be dying hungry or thirsty in hospital, regardless of the circumstances.

But this is precisely what LCP protocols impose…

It is a fine line to draw between the culture of ‘non-intervention’ and the culture of neglect.