We have appointed our first Director for Scotland

Dignity in Dying, the UK’s leading organisation campaigning for greater and choice and control for terminally ill people, has appointed Ally Thomson as its first Director for Scotland. Ally will also be working across their sister charity, Compassion in Dying, which works to promote end-of-life rights and choices for all.

Ally, who most recently worked at the British Red Cross heading up Communications and Advocacy for Devolved Nations, has a track record of advancing human rights and campaigning for change in the fields of poverty, patient choice, women’s rights, independent living and asylum/refugee issues. Previous roles have included the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and a leading disability charity.

As Director for Scotland, Ally’s focus will be to drive forward the case for a change in the law to allow assisted dying as an option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults in their final months of life. Ally will also be championing the work of Compassion in Dying, which aims to inform and empower all people to exercise their rights and choices around end-of-life care.

Ally Thomson said:

“I am delighted to join Dignity in Dying, leading the campaign for assisted dying, greater choice and control and less suffering for terminally ill people in Scotland. I also look forward to developing Compassion in Dying’s vision in Scotland – to ensure everyone receives the end-of-life care and treatment that’s right for them.

“As a nation we have made strides in terms of promoting rights and choice in our health care and we’ve started to look at tackling inequalities more widely. But choice and control at the end of life – and the right to a good death – are still not where they should be. As a passionate believer in compassion, rights and fairness I look forward to tackling this and driving forward one of the most important ethical and progressive issues of our time.”

***ENDS***

For further information or interview requests, please contact Ally Thomson at alyson.thomson@dignityindying.org.uk or 07391735304

Notes to Editor:

Dignity in Dying campaigns for greater choice, control and access to services at the end of life. It advocates providing terminally ill adults with the option of an assisted death, within strict legal safeguards, and for universal access to high quality end-of-life care. For more information, visit www.dignityindying.org.uk.

Compassion in Dying is a charity (no. 1120203) aiming to support people at the end of life to have what they consider to be a good death by providing information and support around their legal rights and choices. We are a leading provider of free Advance Decisions (known as Advance Directives in Scotland) in the UK and we also conduct and review research around patient rights and choices in end-of-life care. We provide free support for people to plan ahead for a time that they may lack capacity to make decisions about their treatment, including a free information line 0800 999 2434 and a free website which allows members of the public to make a an Advance Decision/Directive or Advance Statement, www.mydecisions.org.uk.