Latest news with #hospices
The Independent
8 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Hospices warn of facing ‘huge implications' after assisted dying Bill passed
Hospices and end-of-life care professionals will face 'huge implications' and 'seismic change' after the assisted dying Bill cleared the House of Commons, leading organisations have warned. MPs voted 314 to 291 in favour of the legislation, which would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of under six months to end their lives, at third reading on Friday. Despite warnings from opponents around the safety of a Bill they argued has been rushed through, the Bill will now move to the House of Lords for further debate and scrutiny. Both Houses must agree the final text of the Bill before it can be signed into law. Reacting to the vote, Jan Noble, interim chief executive of St Christopher's Hospice, said: 'Today's vote to pass the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has huge implications for hospices and end-of-life care professionals. 'It is vital that the Government now provides assurance that the impact on hospices will be properly considered and that high-quality end-of-life care is made available to everyone across the country, and for that we need a better funding model for hospices. 'Our position on any change of law remains neutral but as the home of the modern hospice movement we're committed to providing expertise and evidence to policymakers and we're now urging the House of Lords to carefully consider the complex views of the public, particularly those with experience of health inequalities. 'We recognise this may be a difficult moment for many of those working in hospice and end-of-life care, as well as the wider health and social care sector. 'We are now looking to both the Government and the House of Lords for further reassurances that they will address the concerns raised by multiple professionals' bodies.' Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said the vote represented 'a seismic change for end-of-life care in England and Wales' and the introduction of assisted dying would have 'a huge impact' on hospices. He said: 'Already, too many people don't get the care they need at the end of their lives. Today's decision brings the urgency to improve palliative care into even sharper focus, particularly for the most vulnerable members of society. 'Should the Bill become law, the Government has four years to bring about a transformation in palliative and end-of-life care. 'Nobody should ever feel that they have to choose an assisted death because they fear they won't get the care and support they need. As it stands, we are concerned this could become the case. 'The Bill does not detail where assisted dying will take place, or to what extent hospices will be involved. This leaves many unanswered questions for hospices, who are already under immense pressure.' Mr Porter added that Hospice UK also remained neutral on the principle of assisted dying but would work with other hospices and the Government 'to navigate the many operational challenges it poses'. An amendment to the Bill requiring ministers to report within a year of its passing on how assisted dying could affect palliative care was also approved by MPs ahead of Friday's vote. James Sanderson, chief executive of palliative care and bereavement charity Sue Ryder, said: 'We all care about how and where we will die and this review is a vital step in making sure everyone gets the care they need at the end of their life. 'Sue Ryder maintains a neutral position on assisted dying, but we are concerned that gaps in care could be leaving some people feeling it's their only option. 'Our research found that 77% of people felt that terminally ill people could be forced to consider an assisted death because the end-of-life care they need isn't available. That must change – no matter how the Bill progresses in its next stages through the House of Lords. 'We are calling for the Government to back our plan for a new ecosystem for palliative care that would mean more people can die with the care and the dignity they deserve.' Marie Curie welcomed the amendment, but warned that 'this will not on its own make the improvements needed to guarantee everyone is able to access the palliative care they need'.
Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Hospices that oppose assisted dying ‘could be forced to shut'
Hospices that refuse to offer assisted dying services could be forced to shut if their funding is pulled, palliative care doctors have warned. Almost 350 clinicians involved in end of life care have written to the Health Secretary urging him to promise not to revoke NHS funding for providers if they do not offer assisted dying. They have warned that if hospices were to lose funding as a result of the choice to not provide assisted dying services, they would be at risk of closure. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will return to the House of Commons on Friday for further debate. The proposed legislation would mean terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months left to live could apply for assistance to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. Medical professionals, including doctors, pharmacists and social care workers, would have the right to refuse to take part in providing assisted dying services to patients. However, the Bill as currently drafted does not allow employers, including hospices and care homes, the right to refuse to offer assisted dying on their premises. The lack of protections for providers to opt out on religious or ethical grounds has prompted concerns from doctors in the sector about the risk of losing funding. Campaigners have pointed to an example in Canada where a hospice in British Columbia was forced to close its doors after the Government pulled $1.5 million (£1.1 million) of funding when it refused to offer medical assistance in dying (MAID). It comes as the Children's Commissioner for England warned that teenagers were worried about the future possibility of the Bill extending to 16 or 17 year olds. In a letter to Wes Streeting, 347 working clinicians, including 124 consultants and doctors in palliative medicine, demanded clarity on protections available to hospices and care homes. 'Some hospices may be forced to close should they be denied NHS funding because they are unwilling to participate in the provision of assisted suicide,' the letter says. 'Our hospices provide expert, community based, specialist palliative care which is world-leading in our sector. We do not want to kill our patients, nor have them fearful that we may do just that. Let us do the job we are trained to do.' They added: 'We urgently request clarity from the Government that no hospice will be denied public funding because they are unwilling to facilitate assisted suicide on their premises or be placed under a duty to provide such a service.' 'Conscientious objection' A third of hospice funding is provided by the Government, with the other two thirds charitably funded. During the Bill's committee stage Danny Kruger, a Conservative MP against the legalisation of assisted dying, said that he was concerned about the risk of institutions being 'defunded'. He told the committee in March: 'I am concerned about the implication of that, which might be that institutions that did not wish to provide or facilitate assisted suicide but did receive public money, for instance care homes or hospices, would be at risk of losing that money – essentially being defunded – on the grounds of their conscientious objection to participating in assisted dying.' Dr Gillian Wright, a spokesman for Our Duty of Care, warned that without stronger protections for hospices, doctors could leave the sector 'in their droves'. 'The palliative care and hospice sectors are already in crisis, massively underfunded and understaffed. Yet this Bill will compound the problem by failing to give hospices who do not support killing their patients an opt out. 'This will force many doctors, nurses and even volunteers to make a Hobbesian choice to stick to their clinical, ethical or moral objections against assisted suicide, or take part in ending someone's life. This is likely to see medical and ancillary staff leave the sector in their droves. Personnel who can't be easily replaced.' She added: 'There are problems with the failure of MPs to give hospices the right to opt out. There may be pressure on hospices to provide assisted suicide or lose funding.' Meanwhile, Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children's Commissioner, warned that teenagers had expressed concerns about the possibility of the eligibility of assisted dying later expanding to cover 16 and 17 year olds. In a statement on Friday, she said: 'Even at this major stage of the Bill's passage through Parliament, children's views have at best been sidelined, at worst written off entirely simply because they would not fall within the scope of the current scope of legislation. 'They have spoken passionately about their worries that this Bill could be extended further. We need only to look to other models, such as Canada, where proposals for assisted death to be expanded to 'mature minors' – children – are a live issue, to understand the source of their concern'.
