Letters / Politicians should get palliative care sorted

There was 700 hours of parliamentary debate before a ban on the killing of foxes was passed[i].  There was six hours debate on ending the lives of human beings, through the Assisted Dying Bill, its official name is the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-25.  This legislation is being rushed!

We already have assisted dying in place, it is called palliative care.

Palliative medicine provides care and support to prevent and relieve suffering for people with life-limiting and life-threatening illness[ii].   Palliative Care and the hospice movement have developed rapidly since the late 1960s, drawing attention to the end-of-life care needs of patients with the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual support of patients with life-limiting illness, delivered by a multidisciplinary team[iii].

Interest in palliative care has never been greater, however, the worldwide need for this type of care remains much greater than the available provision.

Availability of palliative care is patchy, with some provided by charitable organisations.  Wes Streeting, the health secretary, in England, has repeatedly said that the palliative care system is not “where it needs to be to give people a real choice”[iv].

Politicians should get palliative care sorted.

Those involved in palliative care are worried that funds intended for palliative care will be diverted to fund assisted dying.

Much was made of the safeguards that are supposed to protect the vulnerable ill.  Jake Richards MP[v], one of the bill’s sponsors, posted an article which identifies 12  potential problems with it,and is already talking about removing one of the safeguards – the need for High Court judges to scrutinise assisted dying applications.

It did not take long for the slippery slope to come into play.

Brian Nugent
Hamnavoe
Burra

[i] https://x.com/JenniKing01/status/1863175711013396910
[ii] https://apmonline.org/
[iii] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(07)70138-9/abstract
[iv] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cew2jj94zwyo
[v] https://labourlist.org/2024/12/assisted-dying-bill-kim-leadbeater-committee-stage-jake-richards/