It was developed as a measure to help ease the suffering of the dying. Instead it is alleged to have introduced “backdoor euthanasia” into the NHS, leading to the early deaths of tens of thousands of patients in return for millions of pounds in “bribes” for hospitals. Specialists in palliative medicine have hit back at critics of the so-called Liverpool Care Pathway, a checklist devised to help hospital doctors and nurses assist patients to a humane, dignified and pain-free end. They argued that its aim was to enable patients to “live until they die” – freed from the paraphernalia of tubes and machines that can increase distress. The measure, developed over a decade ago by palliative care...
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