New NHS guidelines on “end of life” care are worse than the Liverpool Care Pathway and could push more patients to an early grave, a leading doctor has warned.

Prof Patrick Pullicino, one of the first medics to raise concerns over the pathway, said the national proposals would encourage hospital staff to guess who was dying, in the absence of any clear evidence, and to take steps which could hasten patients’ death.

The Liverpool Care Pathway - which meant fluids and treatment could be withdrawn, and sedation given to the dying - was officially phased out last year, on the orders of ministers.

It followed concern that under the protocols, thirsty patients had been denied water and left desperately sucking at sponges.

Last week the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) published new 32-page guidance for hospital staff on end-of-life care.

The Nice proposals call on hospital staff to identify a list of “signs” and “changes” – such as agitation or fatigue which could suggest a person is entering the last days of their life, before drawing up a plan for their care, which could see fluids withdrawn.

The new guidance says dying patients who are able to drink should be given water if they seek it. But it also says patients should also be told “death is unlikely to be hastened by not having clinically assisted hydration” - such as a drip. Prof Pullicino said the claim was “completely untrue,” stating that lack of hydration would kill anyone who cannot drink. He accused Nice of a “disaster of misinformation, distortion and ambiguity” in its advice.

​Source: LD http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11779213/New-death-guidelines-worse-than-Liverpool-Care-Pathway.html