New guidelines for end of life care stress importance of religious belief

Doctors should consider a dying person’s religious beliefs when planning end of life care, new Government guidelines recommend.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance drafted to replace the Liverpool Care Pathway says that faith should be taken into account particularly around clinically assisted hydration.

The guidance, which recommends a more personalised form of care for dying people rather than a set pathway for treatment, was published this week and is open for consultation until September.

Speaking in Lourdes on the Day for Life last Sunday (26 July), Cardinal Vincent Nichols warned: “The right to die is somebody else’s duty to kill”. Quoting Pope Francis, he said: “It is a great lie to try to convince people that life lived with serious illness is not worth living.” He continued: “This is why we oppose those who wish to pass laws assisting suicide, giving people the right to die when they want.”

A bill seeking to legalise assisted dying is due to receive its second reading in the House of Commons on 11 September.