Dear Members, Supporters and Friends

The last letter to you was regarding the dreadful treatment my father endured in Noble’s Hospital.  Since I “went public” with this I have had a huge response from people who witnessed family members receiving similar treatment.  There were some terrible stories and I thank everyone who took the time to contact me. 

It soon became apparent that whilst there were some heartrending stories of bullying, lack of adequate care and expertise and much more, some extremely disturbing trends were beginning to emerge.  Common denominators appeared, such as patients not being given enough fluids resulting in dehydration and lack of assistance with feeding.  Compared to some of the other complaints these seemed almost minor.  It was the consistency that was disturbing.

I am now going to quote several paragraphs from the front page of The Daily Telegraph on 3 September.  You may wonder what this has to do with the Isle of Man but please bear with me.

Sentenced to death on the NHS

Patients with terminal illnesses are being made to die prematurely under an NHS scheme, the Liverpool Care Pathway, to help end their lives, leading doctors warn today.

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, a group of experts who care for the terminally ill claim that some patients are being wrongly judged as close to death.

Under NHS guidance introduced across England to help doctors and medical staff deal with dying patients, they can then have fluid and drugs withdrawn and many are put on continuous sedation until they pass away.

But this approach can also mask the signs that their condition is improving, the experts warn.

As a result the scheme is causing a “national crisis” in patient care, the letter states. It has been signed palliative care experts including Professor Peter Millard, Emeritus Professor of Geriatrics, University of London, Dr Peter Hargreaves, a consultant in Palliative Medicine at St Luke’s cancer centre in Guildford, and four others.

“Forecasting death is an inexact science,”they say. Patients are being diagnosed as being close to death “without regard to the fact that the diagnosis could be wrong.

“As a result a national wave of discontent is building up, as family and friends witness the denial of fluids and food to patients."

The scheme, called the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), was designed to reduce patient suffering in their final hours.

Developed by Marie Curie, the cancer charity, in a Liverpool hospice it was initially developed for cancer patients but now includes other life threatening conditions.”

This is the link to the complete article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6127514/Sentenced-to-death-on-the-NHS.html

On the same day the BBC reported on “Crisis over Terminally-ill Care”

“The advice allows food and fluids to be withdrawn from patients, who are then continuously sedated, if they are judged to be close to death.”

 Below is the link to the complete article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8235106.stm

I can almost hear you thinking “That is awful but thank goodness the Liverpool Care Pathway is not used in the Isle of Man.”

(see part 2 of this letter)