Related News

Olympic gold medallist becomes fourth Cambridge rower to be barred from this year’s Boat Race

Olympic gold medallist becomes fourth Cambridge rower to be barred from this year’s Boat Race

March 20, 2025
Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

July 10, 2025
Beatles producer’s son on AI plans: ‘It’s like saying you can burgle my house unless I ask you not to’

Beatles producer’s son on AI plans: ‘It’s like saying you can burgle my house unless I ask you not to’

May 7, 2025

Browse by Category

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World

Related News

Olympic gold medallist becomes fourth Cambridge rower to be barred from this year’s Boat Race

Olympic gold medallist becomes fourth Cambridge rower to be barred from this year’s Boat Race

March 20, 2025
Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

July 10, 2025
Beatles producer’s son on AI plans: ‘It’s like saying you can burgle my house unless I ask you not to’

Beatles producer’s son on AI plans: ‘It’s like saying you can burgle my house unless I ask you not to’

May 7, 2025

Browse by Category

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World
IIHS NEWS - AI Curated content
  • Home
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • US News
  • World
  • Technology
  • Politics
  • Health Care
  • Crypto
No Result
View All Result
CONTRIBUTE
IIHS NEWS - AI Curated content
  • Home
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • US News
  • World
  • Technology
  • Politics
  • Health Care
  • Crypto
No Result
View All Result
IIHS NEWS - AI Curated content
No Result
View All Result
Home Breaking News

How the assisted dying debate is dividing doctors as politicians prepare to vote on bill

Sarah Taylor by Sarah Taylor
June 12, 2025
in Breaking News, UK News, World
0
How the assisted dying debate is dividing doctors as politicians prepare to vote on bill
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

There are few issues more controversial, more divisive.

You might also like

Women’s marathon world record-holder suspended after positive doping test

Sixty-one dead and others missing after Iraq shopping centre fire

Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

Assisted dying polarises opinion.

But it’s a difficult conversation that needs to be had because ultimately death affects us all.

Even if you are fortunate enough to never be directly impacted by an assisted death you will almost certainly be indirectly affected if the End of Life Bill passes into law.

It would be the biggest social change to British society many of us would ever see in our lifetimes.

And after patients and their immediate families, it’s the country’s doctors who will be the most affected by any change in the law.

Like society, the medical community is divided on the issue.

Ballymena riots: Families flee ‘locals’ venting their feelings

Reeves hands NHS £29bn extra per year and pledges to end asylum hotels

Is chancellor’s spending review the start of a ‘national renewal’ – or too good to be true?

One senior doctor said: “It’s like Brexit, but worse.”

Another told me: “Emotions are running high”.

These are the milder, reportable comments.

There is bitterness and mistrust. The deep-rooted anger leads to each side accusing the other of deliberately spreading misinformation, “what-iffery” and “shenanigans” in the lead-up to the final vote next week.

We asked two senior doctors to share their views on assisted dying with us and each other.

Dr Mark Lee is a consultant in palliative care.

“I have worked in this field for 25 years and looked after thousands of patients at the end of their lives. I am against the assisted dying bill because I believe it poses risks to patients, to families, to doctors and to palliative care.”

‘We can get this right’

Dr Jacky Davis is a consultant radiologist and a campaigner for assisted dying legislation in this country.

One of the arguments put forward by opponents of assisted dying is that Britain ranks highest among countries in its delivery of palliative care. And there is no need for such a radical change in end of life care.

It is not an argument Dr Davis accepts.

She said: “The status quo at the moment means a number of people are dying bad deaths every day. 300 million people around the world have access to assisted dying and more legislation is in the pipeline and no place that has taken up a law on assisted dying has ever reversed it. So we can learn from other places, we can get this right, we can offer people a compassionate choice at the end of life.”

Read more:
MPs criticise Esther Rantzen’s intervention
Assisted dying law ‘unworkable’ and ‘naive’

Most deaths in palliative care ‘peaceful’

Dr Lee accepts palliative care has its limitations but this is a result of underfunding. This national conversation, he argues, is an opportunity to address some of those failings and improve end of life care.

“I think the NHS currently is not resourcing the situation enough to be able to provide the patients with the choice that they need to get the care that they needed and that is because they are not getting the choice and because palliative care is patchy. But in my day-to-day work, and I’ve worked in palliative care for 25 years, normal death is peaceful, comfortable, and does not involve people dying in pain.”

“I absolutely agree with Mark,” Dr Davis responded. “The vast majority of people will die a peaceful death and do not have the need for an assisted death. And I absolutely am with him that palliative care in this country has been treated abysmally. Nobody should have to hold a jumble sale in order to fund a hospice. That’s terrible.

“What I didn’t hear from Mark is, while the vast majority of people will die a peaceful death and have got nothing to fear facing death, there are people who have diagnoses where they know that they are likely to face a difficult death and will face a difficult death.

“What are you offering to the people who aren’t going to die a peaceful death? And what are you offering to people who are so afraid that that’s going to happen that they will take their own lives or will go abroad to seek an assisted death?”

Concerns about pressure on NHS

One important voice that has been missing from the national assisted dying debate is that of the NHS.

Senior leaders will not speak on the issue until the fate of the bill is decided. And its understandable why. It is not clear what role the health service would have if the bill passes.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Dr Lee warned that his NHS colleagues were “extremely worried”, going further to say assisted dying would “break the NHS”.

He added, that the country’s already under-pressure hospice sector would struggle to cope with staff “walking away from the job if they are forced to be involved in any way”.

Dr Davis refuses to accept these warnings, arguing that the challenge to the health service is being overstated.

“I think it’s really important to take a step back and say this would be a very small number of deaths. And this is very small in terms of the other things that are coming through big drug discoveries, big new surgeries, all the rest of it this would be very small in terms in terms of money.”

The two doctors did agree on one thing. That every patient is entitled to a pain free and dignified death.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Follow our channel and never miss an update

Dr Lee said: “I look at the whites of the eyes of people every day with that. I stand in that place every day. And that is shameful that anyone in this day and age should die in that position. Jacky and I can agree on that. That is unacceptable. But it still doesn’t justify the response that we meet suffering with killing someone, rather than addressing the needs that are in front of us.”

Dr Davis responded by saying: “You say you’ve looked in the whites of patients’ eyes at the end, and I’d say looking into the whites of patients eyes and listening to what they’re asking for when they’ve been offered everything that you can offer them and they’re still saying, ‘I’ve had enough’, then we should follow the example of other countries and say, ‘we will help you’.”

These are the two very divided opinions of two NHS doctors, but these are the same arguments that will be taking place in hospitals, hospices, offices, factories and living rooms across the country.

In about a week’s time, it will be down to the politicians to decide.

Read Entire Article
Tags: Breaking NewsSkynewsUK
Share30Tweet19
Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor

Recommended For You

Women’s marathon world record-holder suspended after positive doping test

by Sarah Taylor
July 17, 2025
0
Women’s marathon world record-holder suspended after positive doping test

Women's marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been provisionally suspended after a positive doping test.

Read more

Sixty-one dead and others missing after Iraq shopping centre fire

by Sarah Taylor
July 17, 2025
0
Sixty-one dead and others missing after Iraq shopping centre fire

Sixty-one people have died in a fire at a shopping centre in the eastern Iraq city of Kut.

Read more

Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

by Sarah Taylor
July 17, 2025
0
Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

Diane Abbott has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.

Read more

Syria’s president vows to protect Druze after Israel airstrikes

by Sarah Taylor
July 17, 2025
0
Syria’s president vows to protect Druze after Israel airstrikes

Syria's president has said protecting the rights of the Druze population is "our priority" after Israel warned it would destroy forces attacking the minority.

Read more

Pope ‘deeply saddened’ by deaths at sole Catholic church in Gaza after Israeli strike

by Sarah Taylor
July 17, 2025
0
Pope ‘deeply saddened’ by deaths at sole Catholic church in Gaza after Israeli strike

The Pope has said he is "deeply saddened" by the deaths of three people in an Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in Gaza.

Read more
Next Post
Israel considering military action against Iran in days without US support – reports

Israel considering military action against Iran in days without US support - reports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related News

Olympic gold medallist becomes fourth Cambridge rower to be barred from this year’s Boat Race

Olympic gold medallist becomes fourth Cambridge rower to be barred from this year’s Boat Race

March 20, 2025
Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

July 10, 2025
Beatles producer’s son on AI plans: ‘It’s like saying you can burgle my house unless I ask you not to’

Beatles producer’s son on AI plans: ‘It’s like saying you can burgle my house unless I ask you not to’

May 7, 2025

Browse by Category

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World
IIHS NEWS – AI Curated content

IIHS.NEWS will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.

CATEGORIES

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World

BROWSE BY TAG

Blockchain Breaking News Business Entertainment Health Care Insidebitcoins newsbtc Politico Skynews Techcrunch Technology UK US USMagazine Variety World

© 2025 iihs.news - all rights reserved. YYC TECH CONSULTING.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • US News
  • World
  • Technology
  • Politics
  • Health Care
  • Crypto

© 2025 iihs.news - all rights reserved. YYC TECH CONSULTING.