Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK says: The hospice sector in Scotland will need to take the time to digest the detail of what is being proposed in the draft Bill on assisted dying.
Whatever your view on assisted dying, there are a huge number of complex issues and practicalities to consider. It is critical that these are fully understood and carefully considered in what can be a polarised debate.
Hospice UK’s role is not to support or oppose a change in the law, but to ensure that hospices, and those working in them, can bring their expertise and experience to this important and emotive discussion.
Universal, appropriate, and high-quality palliative care for all must be a priority regardless of any decision on changing the law. Hospices provide expert care that helps people to have comfort and dignity at the end of their lives. But demand for palliative care is growing quickly, and so hospices must be supported to make sure everyone can get the care they need, when they need it.
I was involved in someone’s care for what might be considered a comfortable and dignified death last year. I flew home and was part of a team of people who spent 24 hours a day for 9 days helping ease my nan’s passing. The NHS community care team were INCREDIBLE but even that highly responsive and loving care seemed so… unnecessary. She just wanted to go and was frustrated that it wouldn’t happen. This experience taught me that ‘enduring’ should not be the benchmark for a dignified death. If anything, comfort comes only from utterly surrendering your dignity.
If assisted dying is legalised in any part of UK, it is crucial that hospices facilitate, or at least do not obstruct access to, an assisted death for any patient who requests it in line with the terms of the law. Their duty to do so should be independent of whether they have supported the change in the law, opposed it or remained neutral