15/05/2014

Hospitals Leave Patients To 'Die In Pain'

A new audit on the provision of care for people dying in hospitals has found significant variations in care across hospitals in England.

While every patient has different needs, and some will need more pain relief than others for example, there should be no variation in the quality and provision of services, or training in the care of people dying in hospitals. The audit shows that major improvements need to be made to ensure better care for dying people, and better support for their families, carers, friends and those important to them.

Around half of all deaths in England happen in hospitals. Hospitals have a responsibility to provide high quality care for patients in their final days of life, and support families, carers and those close to them. The National Care of the Dying Audit for Hospitals was led by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in collaboration with the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool (MCPCIL), and funded by Marie Curie Cancer Care and Public Health England.

While previous audits had been based on the goals of care within the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP), the new audit sampled the care of dying people in hospital, regardless of whether they were supported by the LCP or other care pathways or frameworks, and included more hospitals than the previous audits. The questions were also changed from previous audits to reflect the recommendations of the Neuberger Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway.

(CVS/CD)

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