Log in

B 4.5c Worcester

NEWS

SPORT

Features

YOUR SAY

ELECTION

WHAT'S ON

JOBS

PROPERTY

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CARS

Register
search

LOCAL INFO

James Connell

Worcester News

Local Businesses

Dating

Buy & Sell Book an ad

JAMES CONNELL

Euthanasia by the back door fears of county

MP

Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

Send us your news, pictures and videos

MP

CONCERN: Ron Grainger with his mother Lilian, aged 90.

First published Wednesday 4 January 2012 in James Connell
by James Connell

EVERYONE should be allowed to die with as little pain as possible and as much
dignity. That is the logic behind the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), a controversial
palliative care programme for terminally ill patients deemed to be near to death.
However, the programme, or perhaps the way it is interpreted by medical staff, is
causing an increasing amount of unease nationally and is an issue which has
raced to the top of the agenda for West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin.
Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH LOCAL NEWS

Get news alerts sent to your inbox

MOST READ STORIES

The LCP, originally designed by the cancer charity Marie Curie in the late 90s at a
Liverpool hospice, was approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (Nice) in 2004 before it was rolled out across hospitals, care homes and
hospices.
Part of the LCP is the withdrawal of
assisted hydration and nutrition and the
removal of intravenous drips and
medications.
The controversy has recently been the
focus of articles in the Daily Telegraph
when a group of doctors wrote to the
newspaper claiming the LCP was the
cause of elderly patients dying
prematurely.
Rather than food and fluid being withdrawn because people were dying, it was
seen as accelerating or even causing their deaths.
Another issue is the decision to put people on this pathway by PROMOTED STORIES
a third party without proper consultation with the patient or
Truck Tries to Pull
their families or carers.
Down Tree Stump:
This issue is relevant everywhere but may be seen as
particularly pertinent to Worcestershire, given the damning
report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the national
health and social care watchdog, published in May.
Inspectors had major concerns about the nutrition and
hydration of patients in wards five and 11 of the Alexandra
Hospital in Redditch. There were examples of some vulnerable
patients having to be prescribed water to make sure they had
enough to drink and having to eat with their hands because

Police find body of missing

Worcestershire pensioner in field

Warning to Worcestershire dog owners

after suspicious behaviour reported to
police

BREAKING: Police growing 'increasingly

concerned' for welfare of missing
Upton pensioner

Shop reopens after "devastating"

arson attack

Warndon Villages residents hold

'picket' about Gtech's new HQ plan

BREAKING: Police helicopter scrambled

to help search for missing pensioner

Teenage girl injured after being hit by

'runaway car' in Worcester

New photo released of missing

pensioner from Upton

Body found in Troutbeck Drive,

Warndon

10

Hospital meltdown: disaster doc called

in as patient waits five hours with
chest pains

11

Saracens Head closure: "high rent

forced us into bankruptcy" says
landlady

12

Twenty metre trip leads to two-year

driving ban

13

Stadium will be built for few at cost of

many

14

Driver gets lorry load wedged under

Watch What Happens

Next (Mentertained)

Man Finds Secret

Room In Office -- Where
It Led Was Astounding
(Viral Nova)
Watch What Happens
Next When This Dump
Truck Loses Control!
(The Grizzled)

These Celebrities Are

Not Aging Like Fine Wine
(Buzzlie)
Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

no one had helped them cut up their food.

THE POLITICIAN
A county MP is determined that a care pathway for the dying
does not become euthanasia by the back door.
West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed new
guidance in the countys NHS acute team to improve a care
programme for terminally ill patients.

(Buzzlie)
A Grandpa Left a
Trunk Behind For His
Family - What's Inside is
Incredible (Viral Nova)
One Man Decided To
Explore An Empty
Cabin... And Instantly
Regretted It [slideshow]
(Check This, Yo!)

14

Driver gets lorry load wedged under

bridge

15

City company among the fastest

growing in the UK

16

Worcester buffet closes its doors

17

Burglars make off with haul from

cottage near Evesham

18

Record Store Day to be celebrated in

Worcester tomorrow

19

Warriors on course for bumper crowd

20

Tom Biggs reveals Worcester Warriors

buzz with play-offs looming large

Recommended by

She first learned about the pathway three years ago when it was mentioned in the
medical notes of a woman who had died at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in
Worcester with dehydration.
Mrs Baldwin was in contact with the womans niece and contacted the hospital
trust for answers.
When the damning report into care at two wards at the Alex by the CQC was
published, Mrs Baldwin was concerned that this was linked to interpretations of
the Liverpool Care Pathway.
She said: Its important the hospital has the right training process and
safeguards because I would hate to see any suspicion that it was euthanasia by
the back door.
Mrs Baldwin requested the Liverpool Care Pathway be considered as part of the
acute trusts review of the failings identified by the CQC report.
Mrs Baldwin has raised concerns with trust management on several occasions
about the use of the LCP after hearing from constituents.
She said: I have been urging the acute trust to take another look at the way it
uses the Liverpool Care Pathway for some time and I am pleased that these steps
have been taken.
Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

FEATURED JOBS
Get local job alerts straight to your inbox

N/A

Legal Secretary
Worcester
N/A

TEACHER REQUIRED
Worcester
N/A

Jig And Fixture Maker

Worcester
N/A

Search 2,667 local jobs today

Enter job / keyword

Worcester

have been taken.

It can of course be difficult to define the moment when a patient becomes
terminally ill and it can be upsetting if all relatives see is that nutrition and
hydration are no longer being given.
THE PALLIATIVE CARE EXPERT

Search
TRAFFIC & TRAVEL
Last updated 01.10 with 1 incidents
First Great Western Worcestershire
Replacement bus service running due to engineering

A palliative care expert says guidance is now much clearer on the best way to look
after people when they are at the end of their lives.

works

Jenny Garside, end-of-life care facilitator for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS
Trust, said the trust had been participating in the Liverpool Care Pathway for a
number of years and the latest version 12 was now being used in the countys
three acute hospitals.

WHAT'S ON Events and cinema listings

She said: The updated pathway contains a detachable leaflet for relatives and
friends about the use of the LCP and issues such as hydration and nutrition that
are often a major concern during the end-of-life phase for patients.
The new pathway also gives clearer guidance to medical and nursing teams
about identifying and placing a patient on the LCP, multi-disciplinary team (MDT)
review and issues such as hydration and nutrition.
The trust has two end-of-life care facilitators one based at Worcestershire Royal
Hospital and the other at the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch.
They visit all ward areas to arrange training on the new document and offer
advice and support. Staff can also access an online e-learning package.
The trust takes part in the Marie Curie National Care of the Dying Audit to
benchmark the use of the document in the trust against a national standard. The
training in the trust is then tailored to identified areas of need.
We are also seeking feedback from families and relatives about the care their
dying relative has received using the local Voices questionnaire, which has been
Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

8am
8am
9am
9am
9am

MOMMA B'S KITCHEN

Holy Communion
Worcester Rambling Club Eckington Walk
Curious About Worcester?
Curious About Hereford?

LOCAL INFO
Enter your postcode, town or place name
Worcester

Find info

House prices Schools Crime Hospitals

adapted for use by the trust.

For more information, visit liv.ac.uk/mcpcil/liverpool-carepathway/
documentation-lcp.htm.
THE CARER
A carer whose blind and bedridden mum was sent home with a letter to say she
should not be revived if she was dying said more needed to be done to improve
care.
Ron Grainger, aged 58, of Cherry Ochard, Holt Health, near Worcester, said he
believed his mum was dying because she was not being given enough to eat and
drink in Worcestershire Royal Hospital rather than because of any illness.
Although he says his mother was never placed on the LCP to his knowledge, he
remains concerned about attitudes to the elderly and vulnerable in hospital.
Lilian Grainger, who is 90 and suffers from a lung condition, was sent home on
March 29 last year with a form saying do not resuscitate.
He said: In my view she was only ever dying because they never gave her drink
and food. They are supposed to be protecting vulnerable people. They should be
ashamed of themselves.
Mr Grainger is also concerned about what he sees as the lack of discharge
meetings and other communication between the hospital and a patient, their
families and carers.
He said: My mum was discharged one year and one month ago with end-of-life
care. They discharged her without a planning meeting. They should have had a
discharge meeting, especially if there are carers involved like me.
They didnt do any of that.
Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

One of his issues is the refusal of NHS Worcestershire to fund continuing

healthcare which pays for nursing home costs which was withdrawn in
February this year after payments began in March 2010.
He said: They had already made up their minds. I said, You cant do that, its
unlawful. My mothers needs havent changed.
John Rostill, then chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust,
wrote to Mr Grainger offering his family an unreserved apology while Hilary
Green, continuing healthcare manager for NHS Worcestershire, acknowledged
that Mr Grainger was not involved in all assessments of his mothers eligibility,
contrary to our standard practices and procedures.

Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

PROMOTED STORIES

30 High-quality Bus
Makeovers That Will
Surprise You

Truck Tries to Pull Down

Tree Stump: Watch What
Happens Next

(Viral Nova)

(Mentertained)

These 10 Dog Breeds Are

Extremely Unstable

8 Celebrities with Mental

Illnesses

(Poundwishes)

(Time To Break - Get your latest celebrity

news)
Recommended by

Comments (3)
Please log in to enable comment sorting
Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

rubalish says...

6:04pm Wed 4 Jan 12

MY HUSBAND DIED IN WORCESTER WITHOUT THE CARE HE SO

DESERVED !
Score: 0

worcswolf says...

Report this post

11:58pm Fri 6 Jan 12

I have watched many a relative die with cancer and remember my

Grandad calling for a gun so he could shoot himself at the end of
his battle. He was 6ft 3in and was reduced to a skeleton at the end
yet I put my dog to sleep so she would not suffer with her cancer.
A humane act their are many degenerative diseases and cancers
where their are no cures, surely if this is the case a tablet before
bed or injection and have a wake before you die is better. Never
mind factoring the wasted money and resources of pallative care
towards the end. I would prefer to end my suffering we all die in
the end and I would like to have the option as a right. I know my
grandad would have.
Score: 0

scott.hannaford says...

Report this post

10:26pm Tue 10 Jan 12

I am with Worcswolf. If I get a serious, life-ending disease, I would

want it over asap. Medical staff know when treatment is a waste of
time and rely on palliative care pathways to make the patient as
comfy as possible.
Also, it is amazing that so many people complain that "my Joe
didnt get the care he deserved". Maybe letting the person die is
Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!

the right thing to do? Some people want the person to live as long
as possible to spend as much time with them as they can. Even if
that person is suffering...
Score: 0

Report this post

Comments are closed on this article.

Jobs

Find your next job now In

Worcestershire and beyond

Dating

Make a date in Worcestershire now!

Homes

Worcestershire homes for sale and to

let

Search Now

Mobile site

Search Now

SPORT

YOUR SAY

Contact Us

Subscribe

Terms & Conditions

Cars for sale throughout Worcestershire

Search Now

Search Now

NEWS

Cars

ELECTION

Photo Sales

WHAT'S ON

Advertise

AdChoices

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Copyright 2001-2015

JOBS
Archive

PROPERTY
Topics

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements

Site Map

CARS

Exchange and Mart

About cookies

LOCAL INFO
Two's Company Dating

This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network A Gannett Company

Newsquest (Midlands South) Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP10 9TY |3104052|Registered
England
& Wales
Weinwant
you
to enjoy

your visit to our website. That's why we

use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our
website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about
the cookies we use.
Newsquest printing
I agree

Do you need professional PDFs for your application or on your website? Try the PDFmyURL API!