Nine out of 10 palliative care experts would choose Liverpool care pathway for themselves

The Liverpool care pathway represents best practice for the care of dying patients, according to 89% of UK palliative medicine consultants in an online survey by the BMJ and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme.1

The same proportion of consultants said they would choose it for themselves if they were dying from a terminal illness, and over 97% of consultants thought that the pathway allows patients to die with dignity when used correctly.

The anonymous online survey was emailed to 3021 hospital doctors in early February. The results are based on responses from 563 doctors who had used the pathway in their practice. These respondents comprised 185 palliative medicine consultants (about 40% of the total UK consultant workforce …