New approach for NHS palliative care announced

The government has outlined a series of new Priorities for Care that will form the basis of future efforts to provide high-quality palliative care.

Replacing the controversial and now-abandoned Liverpool Care Pathway, the new approach aims to enshrine the needs and wishes of the dying person and those close to them as the most important factors in end-of-life care.

Patients will need to be informed of their terminal prognoses as early as possible and consulted on exactly how their care will be structured, with treatment plans to be tailored to individual requirements, taking in the wishes of loved ones.

The new priorities have been created by a coalition of 21 organisations known as the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People, which will aid the implementation of the measures.

Care and support minister Norman Lamb said: "The new priorities will mean that care is focused on dying people's wishes – rather than processes. This will make sure that their voices, and those of their families, are heard at all times."

The Liverpool Care Pathway was scrapped last year due to concerns over excessive instances of poor practice, with families and carers not being properly engaged in the patient's care.