A widow has claimed doctors put her terminally ill husband on an 'end of life pathway' without telling her, denying her the chance to share his final days with him. Liz Watson, whose husband George was admitted to a Marie Curie Hospice for respite care, hit out at doctors after his condition deteriorated rapidly.
She says Mr Watson was the 'love of her life' and 'didn't deserve to die like he did' on the pathway, which sometimes involves depriving patients of food and water. Mr Watson was diagnosed with a brain tumour 17 months before he was admitted to the hospice. from which he never came home.
His family said the 64-year-old from Liberton in Edinburgh was going shopping and 'eating three-course meals' before he rapidly declined in the centre in Fairmilehead.Mrs Watson said she only realised George was on the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway - which involves withdrawal of medication, food and fluids - when her mother recognised the signs.
A later inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland upheld several complaints about care standards, including poor communication about his worsening condition, and made a list of recommendations...But following a recent unannounced inspection last month, it was found many improvements had still not been carried out. The watchdog made five requirements and 11 recommendations that must be addressed 'as a matter of priority'
A spokeswoman for NHS Lothian said: 'Like every health board in Scotland, NHS Lothian is following Scottish Government guidance on the Liverpool Care Pathway and phasing it out.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2785401/Widow-claims-husband-s-days-stolen-doctors-banned-Liverpool-Care-Pathway-without-knowledge.html#ixzz3GtTPggfU
`Phasing it out` means it is still going on.
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