Prime Minister Andy Burnham
Terminally Ill Adults Bill
I know … I know … we’ve been here so many times, haven’t we?! Big sigh. But I have to stay fair- and open-minded on the subject.
I confess, every time the topic of Assisted Dying comes under widespread scrutiny my mind and my heart are torn yet again. Because I can appreciate the sense and sincerity and wisdom offered from both sides.
So, on Friday I listened carefully to yet another debate in parliament on the subject. The courage and compelling emotional truth from those with first-hand experience of living with terminal illness; the pain of those who’ve watched loved ones die in harrowing circumstances; the eloquence of doctors coping with the lived reality for their patients; the fear of and for disabled people and the vulnerable; the frustration of those who’ve worked tirelessly to bring the bill to the lawmakers … it was all there on view. Moving and compelling. At times, though, when seats rapidly emptied, or colleagues interrupted or chatted together during speeches, or fidgeted with their mobile phones, I got a sense of a little less respect and empathy and solemnity than last time – perhaps it was a matter of time/patience/deja-vu? – but nonetheless the critical issues were certainly covered by the exchanges.
And then came the all-important vote.
Defeat.
By 16 votes.
And this time the House of Lords can’t be blamed; the elected members in the Commons did this all on their own.
Another bill will surely be introduced at some point in the future, but that’s it for now.
However, what I personally take away from this latest stage is gratitude that so much emphasis was placed on the need for better palliative care. I know of a number of patients/friends who were given exemplary end-of-life care, but I also know only too well it’s a post-code lottery. Whilst there are many pros and cons attached to the question of assisted death, there are no contraindications for the matter of medical and social support at the end of life: every single person deserves the best. There can be no second chance.
And NHS Specialist in Palliative Medicine, author and campaigner, Dr Rachel Clarke, (one of my heroes) summed it up perfectly in her eloquent open letter to the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, the day after the vote. The issue that united everyone she said was ‘the appalling underfunding of palliative and social care which inflicts so much avoidable suffering on people with terminal illnesses‘. She called it ‘a national disgrace’ that only 25-33% of hospice care is government funded. She told him that if he saw what she sees he would recoil: ‘Do you know that I sometimes have to have end-of-life conversations with patients who are dying on trolleys in hospital corridors – because there is nowhere else to put them?‘ And given that the Burnham family have been bereaved this very week, I suspect this would have even greater impact.
Dr Clarke appealed to him, begged him indeed, ‘as a decent man‘, to put an end to this intolerable situation, to make dying people a government priority … ‘You are the Prime Minister’ … ‘this is something you have the power to change’.
If the heat and passion and persistence fuelling this ongoing debate does nothing more, I for one hope it leads to this improvement at least. And swiftly.
ٍ