Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

Liverpool Care Pathway

GMC Statement

16 Nov 2012

Responding to the recent debate about the Liverpool Care Pathway and the support available to doctors on end of life issues Professor Sir Peter Rubin Chair of the General Medical Council, said:

Clear and sympathetic communication by doctors is essential and our guidance Treatment and Care Towards the End of Life gives helpful advice to doctors.

Professor Sir Peter Rubin Chair of the General Medical Council

'The end of life is a distressing time for the patient and their relatives. Doctors and patients should make decisions together about the treatment and care that will meet patients' wishes and needs in the last days or hours of their lives. Clear and sympathetic communication by doctors is essential and our guidance Treatment and Care Towards the End of Life gives helpful advice to doctors.

'The Liverpool Care Pathway has been in use for over a decade. Its aim is to bring the best of terminal care to all clinical settings. When properly implemented it follows the same principles as our guidance and ensures that people can die with dignity.'