Remembering Diane Pretty.
Ten years ago today Diane Pretty died. Her impact on the campaign for greater patient choice at the end of life cannot be overstated.
Ten years ago today Diane Pretty died. Her impact on the campaign for greater patient choice at the end of life cannot be overstated.
New research has just been published by the National End of Life Intelligence Network. The report indicates that end-of-life care in the UK is improving for many patients at the end of life, however much more can still be done to improve care.
Yesterday the High Court ruled in favour of a 67-year-old man with motor neurone disease who had made an Advance Decision to refuse life sustaining treatment.
Yesterday the public consultation on Margo MacDonald MSP’s assisted suicide Bill closed. Dignity in Dying’s response is broadly supportive.
Allowing people to be cared for, and die, in their preferred place (normally home) has been on the political agenda for a number of years now. In order for this more routinely to happen there needs to be excellent coordination of health and social care services and patients need to be assured that, as far as possible, they’ll be able to receive the type of care they request.
In a previous Campaign blog we described the victory for greater choice at the end-of-life in the House of Commons last month. While much of the media coverage was fair and accurate, reporting that ‘MPs have backed the “realistic and compassionate” official prosecution guidelines on assisted dying’, we did come across the odd misrepresentation of what happened in the chamber.
Peter Goodwin was one of the architects of Oregon’s assisted dying law, the Death with Dignity Act. In 2006 Peter was diagnosed with Corticobasal Ganglionic Degeneration, a rare, debilitating brain disorder, and in March this year he chose to die at home, surrounded by his family and using life ending medication obtained under the law he helped to create.
Yesterday evening MPs unanimously backed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) guidelines on assisted suicide, endorsing the non-prosecution of those who compassionately assist a loved on to die at their request, a move that SPUC Pro-Life, an organisation which opposes assisted dying, say ‘effectively decriminalises assisted suicide’.
Two reports have just been published. One is on a survey on the physicians and end-of-life care and the other is an audit of complaints in end-of-life care in four hospital trusts.
One week today the House of Commons’ chamber will play host to the first debate on assisted suicide for fifteen years. It provides an historic opportunity for MPs to engage in an assessment of the current law on assisted suicide. With only seven days remaining it’s time for one last push to ensure your view is represented on March 27.