A group of doctors revealed to save cost elderly patients
could be denied food and water to speed-up death.
Tens of thousand of terminal ill patients are put on the
Department of Health. This includes a Liverpool Care Pathway but contrary to
its title it is scheme it suppose to speed-up death.
The idea of LCP is to withhold fluid and drugs from patients
in their final days. To withhold fluid is worse than withholding food. As everybody knows to be thirsty is real
torture. To withhold drugs could lead to agony when the patient has pains. Both
methods are inhuman.
It is also assumed that this method could be extended merely
to free beds and a group of six Care Doctors for the elderly have that suspicion.
These six doctors also say that older people are often free
of pain and distress and therefore there is no need for LCP. They claim further
not all doctors asking the patients and try to get consent while the patient is
still capable to decide. In view of this lucking to do their job properly many patients
carry a card stating that they do not want that treatment.
Dr Clifford Craig said: “If you are a cynical about it, as I
am, you can see it is a cost-cutting measure, if you don’t want to have you
beds filled with old people.” This warning came after Professor Patrick Pullicino quoted a fine example when he took
a 71 year old patients suffering from pneumonia off LCP and he lived for
another 14 months. He titled the scheme
as “assisted death pathway rather than care pathway.”
The health department responded with that the LCP is not about
saving money. They would say that under the present government trying to
privatise the National Health Service. Although they deny this too and call it
reform the NHS. The Health Secretary Andrew
Lansley is still denying it and at the same time he appointed Naguib Kheraj. He
is a banker and was a top man at Barclays during the cheating libor (interest
rates fixing when one bank loans to another). That tells you everything on both
accounts.
Thank you, Dona, for your visit and adding this information which sounds very reassuring. This article I read in the papers the doctors were talking about elderly were in hospitals and terminally ill. This situation sounded very scary compared to your description of the care for the elderly. I am glad you put your comment here.
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