Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventh sitting)

Debate between Tom Gordon and Rachel Hopkins

Committee stage
Thursday 30th January 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

Q Claire, you mentioned multidisciplinary teams and decision making. We have heard in a couple of other evidence sessions from palliative care social workers, nurse practitioners and the Royal College of Nursing about the multidisciplinary approach in care. What are your thoughts on the ultimate approval as set out in the Bill being a doctor, another doctor and then a legal okay at the end? Would a more multidisciplinary approach to approval have stronger outcomes or better safeguards?

Claire Williams: I absolutely agree that a panel/committee approach would have better safeguarding for patients, because the decision is being made collectively with legal expertise and with other healthcare professionals—that might be palliative—or ethicists like myself. It is having that collective view, ensuring that everybody is happy and that that is exactly what the patient wants. I believe it should be a committee/panel-based approach for the final decision. As I said before, expecting a High Court judge—just one individual—to make that decision alone is hugely burdensome and not an approach that we should be taking.

[Tom Gordon]

Q Professor Preston, we have heard from a wide range of different people from different jurisdictions. What we have heard and the evidence suggest that where we see assisted dying as an option, we tend to see improvements in palliative care. Do you have any comment on that and how we could better integrate into giving people that choice? You talked earlier about different routes and different systems in countries where it might sit outside the healthcare setting. Would that limit the choice and hinder people’s ability? How do you see that having a play in this?

Professor Preston: There is a bigger and bigger conversation in a lot of these countries, including the Netherlands and Switzerland, that this is not about healthcare. I know that sounds a really strange thing, but it is about self-determination and a life choice. I remember someone saying to me, “Well, you wouldn’t check who I’m marrying.” They feel it is such a personal choice. I think patients do bring this up. They bring it up all the time now. Studies in Spain have shown that if a patient has a desire for hastened death, the best thing you should do is explore that desire. Why do they have that desire? How can we help you? Are there other needs we can meet? Most people will not want to then go ahead and have an assisted death. This is a minority of people. Could you remind me of the rest of your question?