More Care Less Pathway: End of life care after Neuberger

Dr. Martin Vernon is a Consultant Geriatrician in South Manchester and is the BGS End of Life Care Lead.

Few can have escaped the media driven political debate that erupted in 2012 over the care of dying people in hospital and at home but you may be wondering what has happened since then.  In July 2013, the Independent Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway published the report More Care, Less Pathway. In response to its recommendation for a system-wide strategic approach, the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People (LACDP) was established to provide a focus for improving care of dying people and their families.  You can learn more about the group here.

A Clinical Advisory Group (CAG) was established in September 2013 to consider Review recommendations specific to clinical practice and how these should influence practice. Dr Bee Wee, National Clinical Director for End of Life Care, chairs the group.  The British Geriatrics Society is represented by me and the group includes representatives from NHS England, Royal College of Physicians, palliative care professionals, hospice and care home organisations, the Care Quality Commission, and a layperson.

Dying isn’t Working

Following Kate Granger’s blog entry on her personal response to the withdrawal of the Liverpool Care Pathway, we present a blog from Jason Suckley, director of Policy and Campaigns at Sue Ryder, explains what healthcare professionals could do to improve end of life care

In a civilised society and 65 years since the establishment of the NHS, it’s totally unacceptable that individuals and their families remain unsupported at the one of the most life-changing and emotionally challenging times.  Your diagnosis, where you live, or who your doctor is shouldn’t pre-determine whether or not you have a good death – we want to change that.

To work towards addressing the problem, in June, we launched our campaign, “Dying isn’t Working”.  The campaign is based on our own experience as a service provider of end of life care and evidence from two reports we’ve produced with think-tank Demos – Ways and Means (published on 19 June), looking at barriers to accessing end of life care, and A time and a place (published on 9 July), exploring what people want at end of life.  Insights from the reports highlight a number of ways in which healthcare professionals can improve end of life care for all.

What is the future of care for the dying?

Kate Granger is an Elderly Medicine Registrar at Pinderfields Hospital in Yorkshire. She tweets at @GrangerKate and blogs at drkategranger.wordpress.com 

 

As a vocal advocate of the Liverpool Care Pathway I have experienced a wide range of emotions since the publication of the Independent Review regarding its use, ‘More Care, Less Pathway’.

Initially I was shocked something which had become a routine part of my post registration working life was going to be scrapped. I cannot recall such a prominent change in practice since I qualified. Personally I always found the LCP a very useful framework to employ when caring for dying patients.  As the shock subsided I will admit to some negative emotions; I was upset and angry but mostly disappointed; disappointed that our efforts to dispel the media misrepresentation and scaremongering had been in vain. A feeling of indifference followed. This is a rare feeling for me to experience when it comes to anything Palliative Care related; I am usually so passionate.