The Road to Heaven

Medical matters in the shape of the iniquitous Liverpool Care Pathway seem to be all the rage at the moment. For those who do not read newspapers or watch TV, the LCP is about the kind of care your relative or friend will receive if they have a terminal illness.

I admit to a bias. I believe that the duty of medical practioners is the maintenance of life come what may and the end of life should be as natural as possible. The Liverpool Care Pathway is designed to provide palliative care to the end.

The considerable controversy surrounding the use of the LCP concerns possible abuse of the Pathway. It’s been noted that there is in some cases an almost indecent and ill considered haste to put some patients on the system.

The Pathway relies on the withdrawal of fluids and nutrition and the administration of strong analgesics to smooth what is often a rocky road to the end. It is said that the administration of the Pathway is often premature.

Question: Would you want this for yourself or your relatives or would you want to try to continue, knowing that where there’s life there’s hope.