Palliative care doctors against assisted dying
sir – As the palliative care consultants of the next generation from across the country, we oppose any introduction of assisted suicide or euthanasia in Britain (James Le Fanu, “Doctors’ ‘neutral stance’ on assisted dying is anything but”, September 20).
This would be a seismic shift in the way in which patients are cared for and one that we are not prepared to have any part of. Every conversation with a dying patient would be altered and assisted suicide would need to be discussed.
Having to include assisted dying in a list of management plans would fundamentally alter the dynamic in the patient-doctor relationship and destroy the trust that is so essential to our work.
Offering someone the option to die is akin to saying that we do not value their life, or feel that it may not be worth living. Even worse, patients may feel that the motivation for offering this option is cost-driven. People will soon realise that offering assisted dying is cheaper than the myriad other treatment options we could offer them.
Hospices and palliative care services raise the bulk of their funds from charitable donations. In England, hospices received just 32 per cent of their income from the Government. If services were properly funded and resourced, we as palliative care physicians could have the opportunity to give more people the dignified and pain-free deaths that they want.
No change is needed in the law to ensure that everyone has a realistic choice about the treatments they receive, and in how we help them to live and die well.
The British Medical Association does not represent us. We are not neutral. The overwhelming majority of palliative care doctors do not want the introduction of assisted dying and will not participate if it is brought in.
Dr Lucy Ison
Dr Becca Allan
Dr Sarah Foot
Dr Sarah Gilmour
Dr Alice Gray
Dr Jennifer Hancox
Dr Louis Harpham-Lockyer
Dr Kate Howarth
Dr Alexandra Maslen
Dr Alexandra McDougall
Dr Sarah Scott
Dr Shaun Qureshi
Dr Abigail Reynolds
Dr Amy Ritchie
Dr Hannah Rose
Dr Sarah Scott
Dr Daniel Soutar
Dr Yinting Ta
Dr Amy Taylor
Dr Sabrina Vitello
Dr Lizzie Woods
———-
