Assisted dying ‘could be Trojan Horse that breaks NHS'

Telegraph

5 hours ago

Assisted dying 'could become the Trojan horse that breaks the NHS,' the Commons has heard.
MPs are due to vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday, which could see it either progress to the House of Lords or fall.
It will be the first time the Bill has been voted on in its entirety since the historic vote in November when MPs supported the principle of assisted dying for England and Wales by a majority of 55.
On Tuesday, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, was questioned about the availability of money to fund such moves.
Last year, Mr Streeting voted against the Bill and has since indicated he remains opposed, reiterating that the Government is taking a neutral stance on it.
Dame Siobhain McDonagh, a Labour MP opposed to the Bill, said an assisted dying service could 'rob our stretched NHS of much-needed resources'.
She said: 'When asked in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for Health made clear to MPs that there is no money allocated to the NHS to fund the assisted dying Bill.
'It's now clear that the assisted dying Bill will rob our stretched NHS of much-needed resources and could become the Trojan horse that breaks the NHS, the proudest institution and the proudest measure in our Labour Party's history.
'We already know from the impact assessment that this new system could cost tens, if not hundreds of millions of pounds, making our mission to cut waiting times and rebuild our NHS harder. I urge Labour MPs not to vote for the assisted dying Bill to protect the vulnerable and our NHS.'
Mr Streeting was asked by the Labour MP Katrina Murray, who opposed the Bill, whether the NHS had the money to fund assisted dying on top of its other priorities.
She said: 'If passed, the assisted dying Bill would make thousands of terminally ill people every year eligible to end their lives on the NHS. Does our health service have the money to fund this service as well as its priority of bringing down waiting lists?'
Mr Streeting responded: 'Of course, the Government is neutral [on assisted dying]. It's for the House to decide.
'There isn't money allocated to set up the service in the Bill at present, but it's for members of this House and the Lords, should the Bill proceed, to decide whether or not to proceed and that's a decision that this Government will respect either way.'
Mr Streeting said last year that there were 'choices and trade-offs', adding that 'any new service comes at the expense of other competing pressures and priorities'.
Last week, Mr Streeting said the NHS was 'in a fight for its life' as he described his mission to turn the health service around.
'Not about pounds or pence, but the human cost'
An impact assessment published by the Government last month estimated that the operational costs of setting up an assisted dying service could be up to £13.6 million a year.
The assessment suggested there could be up to 4,500 assisted deaths in a decade, saving the taxpayer up to £90 million in healthcare and benefits and pensions payments.
Kim Leadbeater, the Bill sponsor, has said the proposed legislation is about giving dying people choice at the end of their lives, saying it is 'about the human cost' and 'not about pounds and pence'. She has described her Bill as the 'most robust piece of legislation in this area in the world'.
Dozens of Labour MPs called for Friday's overall vote to be delayed, asking Lucy Powell, the Commons Leader, for more time to scrutinise a Bill they say is 'perhaps the most consequential piece of legislation that has appeared before the House in generations'.
But a Government spokesman pointed out that it is a private members' Bill and 'the amount of time for debate is therefore a matter for the House'.
Supporters of the Bill say it is coming back to the Commons with better safeguards after more than 90 hours of parliamentary time spent on it to date.
But opponents claim the process has been rushed and that the Bill is weaker than it was when first introduced last year.
A key change was the replacement of a High Court judge requirement for sign-off of applications from terminally ill people, with a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.
As it stands, the proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and the three-member panel.
While the Bill has the backing of some MPs from medical backgrounds, concerns have been raised by the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Psychiatrists.