This Friday, Parliament will debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Pioneered by MP Kim Leadbeater, the bill will legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults who are expected to have less than six months to live.
A highly contentious issue within Parliament, Labour’s Cabinet remains divided.
But what do healthcare providers think?
“Some of us will start killing our patients,” palliative care doctor Kajtek Skowronski says.
“The older generation are very selfless people. On occasion they will say something to me like, Doctor, can’t you just bunk me off?
“The reality is, it will be cheaper to kill patients than to treat them at the end of their life. And the NHS has finite resources. That pressure on the system is going to lead to some very perverse incentives for doctors to suggest this as an option. If I’m forced to be involved in this, I will leave.”
North London Hospice is located in Woodside Park. Deputy Medical Director, Dr Jo Brady, says “For the vast majority, if you provide them with adequately funded palliative care – that’s what they’re actually looking for.
My absolute plea is – please let us fund palliative care properly first.”
‘The NHS has finite resources. That pressure on the system is going to lead to some very perverse incentives for doctors to suggest this as an option.’
– Palliative care doctor Kajtek Skowronski
‘My mother in law took out her own tubes’
Advocates of the bill say it couldn’t come sooner.
Trevor Moore, Chair of My Death, My Decision, says that medical professionals have to respect a request by a patient to withdraw life support. “My mother in law took out all her tubes and said ‘I no longer want these in my body’.”
Palliative care minister Stephen Kinnock will vote in favour of assisted dying, telling ITV: “Evidence shows that often countries and places that go with assisted dying actually see improvements in palliative care coming from that.”
The bill has brought forward debates surrounding wellbeing, safety, family, and ethics. On Friday, MPs will cast their votes, and if the law passes, terminally ill people with less than six months to live will have the right to die at a time of their choosing.
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Headline“If I’m forced to be involved in this, I will leave”
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StandfirstLabour's Cabinet remains divided on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, but what does the healthcare world think?
This Friday, Parliament will debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Pioneered by MP Kim Leadbeater, the bill will legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults who are expected to have less than six months to live.
A highly contentious issue within Parliament, Labour’s Cabinet remains divided.
But what do healthcare providers think?
“Some of us will start killing our patients,” palliative care doctor Kajtek Skowronski says.
“The older generation are very selfless people. On occasion they will say something to me like, Doctor, can’t you just bunk me off?
“The reality is, it will be cheaper to kill patients than to treat them at the end of their life. And the NHS has finite resources. That pressure on the system is going to lead to some very perverse incentives for doctors to suggest this as an option. If I’m forced to be involved in this, I will leave.”
North London Hospice is located in Woodside Park. Deputy Medical Director, Dr Jo Brady, says “For the vast majority, if you provide them with adequately funded palliative care – that’s what they’re actually looking for.
My absolute plea is – please let us fund palliative care properly first.”
‘The NHS has finite resources. That pressure on the system is going to lead to some very perverse incentives for doctors to suggest this as an option.’
– Palliative care doctor Kajtek Skowronski
‘My mother in law took out her own tubes’
Advocates of the bill say it couldn’t come sooner.
Trevor Moore, Chair of My Death, My Decision, says that medical professionals have to respect a request by a patient to withdraw life support. “My mother in law took out all her tubes and said ‘I no longer want these in my body’.”
Palliative care minister Stephen Kinnock will vote in favour of assisted dying, telling ITV: “Evidence shows that often countries and places that go with assisted dying actually see improvements in palliative care coming from that.”
The bill has brought forward debates surrounding wellbeing, safety, family, and ethics. On Friday, MPs will cast their votes, and if the law passes, terminally ill people with less than six months to live will have the right to die at a time of their choosing.
