*** Records from 178 hospitals also show that thousands of people on the pathway are left to die in pain because nurses do not do enough to keep them comfortable while drugs are administered. An estimated 130,000 patients are put on the pathway each year. ***
60,000 patients put on death pathway without being told but minister still says controversial end-of-life plan is 'fantastic'
* Pathway involves the sick being sedated and usually denied nutrition and fluids
* Families kept in the dark when doctors withdraw lifesaving treatment
* Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said pathway was a 'fantastic step forward'
* Anti-euthanasia group said: ‘The Pathway is designed to finish people off double quick'
