Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP)
Arohanui Hospice's journey with the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP) started late 2004 with an LCP Project Team plan that involved piloting the LCP in the hospice inpatient unit, followed by three hospital-level aged residential care (ARC) facilities, and 2 wards in Palmerston North Hospital.
The LCP is now embedded in practice in the Arohanui Hospice inpatient unit where, on average, 65% of deaths occur using the LCP. The three ARC facilities involved in the pilot - Radius Peppertree; Brightwater and Horowhenua Masonic - continue to successfully use the LCP to guide the delivery of evidence-based, best practice end-of-life care. Nine wards in the acute care setting of Palmerston North Hospital now use the LCP. To ensure the sustainability of the LCP, all care settings have LCP Resource Nurses who commit to educating staff new to their areas, liaising with the LCP Facilitators from the LCP Project Team at Arohanui Hospice, and attending two-monthly LCP Resource Nurse Group meetings for networking, peer support and ongoing education. All of these care settings utilize the Reflective Data Cycle as a continuous quality improvement tool to monitor and evaluate the care of dying patients and their family/whanau. For more information about the Reflective Data Cycle, please click on the link.
MidCentral District Health Board (MCDHB) is a key stakeholder and partner with Arohanui Hospice in the dissemination of the LCP across all care settings in the region. MCDHB have provided funding support to complete the roll-out of the LCP by June 2010.
In 2008, a district-by-district approach to implementing the LCP across the remainder of the MidCentral region was commenced. By January 2009, all care settings in the Tararua District will have implemented the LCP. This includes the community (i.e. General Practitioners, practice nurses, district nurses and Arohanui Hospice's Palliative Care Coordinators caring for patients who choose to die in their own home); four hospital-level ARC facilities and Dannevirke Community Hospital. Implementation will commence in the Manawatu District February 2009, followed by the Horowhenua District later in the year.
MidCentral District Health Board districts
For more information about the MidCentral DHB regional LCP implementation plan, please contact Theresa Mackenzie, National LCP Lead - NZ or Joanne Giesen, National LCP Office Administrator.
