Terminally ill patients are dying prematurely because of a controversial 'death pathway' being followed by NHS doctors. Medical experts have warned some patients are being wrongly labelled as close to dying when they still have months to live. They say the system used by the Health Service and many care homes could amount to 'backdoor euthanasia'. Under the Liverpool Care Pathway, doctors can withdraw fluids and drugs from patients if they are deemed close to death. Many are then put on continuous sedation so they die free of pain. But sedation can often mask signs of improvement, meaning doctors may...
