Is the Assisted Dying Bill a cover up for the failings of palliative care?
MPs across the country will get the chance to vote on the Assisted Dying Bill for the first time in nine years on Thursday
Whilst the Assisted Dying bill is a free vote, meaning the parties are not telling the MPs what to vote, it has proved a divisive topic amongst the public and parliament.
The bill is seen by its supporters as a better alternative than what the palliative care system is offering within the NHS.
However, the debate over assisted dying has sparked more interest into the lack of focus MPS are putting on palliative care rather than the arguments surrounding assisted dying.
Statistics taken from the NCEPOD (National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death) show that one in four people in the UK are not receiving the palliative care they need. Therefore, many people feel that if there were better options regarding palliative care then a discussion about assisted dying wouldn’t be needed.
Dr Rachel Clarke a former palliative care doctor in Oxford and award-winning author of ‘The Story of the Heart’ took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the bill. Dr Clarke calls out those in favour of the bill for ‘pretending the AD bill has safeguards to prevent those people being driven to suicide’ by the ‘shameless lack of palliative care.’
Dr Clarke’s remarks reflect many of those who oppose the bill and are suggesting MPS should focus on providing patients with good palliative care rather than asking them to choose between a failing system and assisted death.