Elderly people should be allowed to end their lives with the help of a doctor even if they are not terminally ill, according to a new campaign group that claims to have widespread support. The Society for Old Age Rational Suicide, led by a former GP known as “Dr Death”, says that pensioners should have the human right to declare “enough is enough” and die with dignity.
'Living wills' that stipulate exactly how a person wants to die should be drawn up with absolute clarity, a judge has ruled after concluding a 67-year-old man with motor neurone disease had made a "valid decision" to refuse treatment.
Anti-abortion campaigners are pressing ahead with a controversial amendment to the Government’s new health bill designed to cut the number of pregnancies which are terminated each year in the UK. The Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, who is proposing the amendment, said yesterday she would not be “bought off” by the promise of a Government consultation on whether or not to offer independent counselling to all women considering an abortion. Instead she said she wanted to change the law to strip abortion charities and doctors of their exclusive responsibility for counselling women seeking to terminate a pregnancy, and hand it to specially trained professionals.
New report finds half of dying Britons are not dying well At a pivotal time for end of life care in Britain the need for advance care planning is reinforced Divided in Dying, a new report from charity Compassion in Dying, finds that almost half of those who have lost someone close to them through a short or long illness, feel their loved one died badly (45%). In cases where the dying person had recorded their end of life wishes, relatives and friends are more likely to report that they had a good death (58%). Alongside recording end of life wishes (19%), better communication between the doctor and their loved one (39%), co-ordination of care (33%) and being able to die in a place of their choice (31%) were also identified as key aspects which could have improved the situation for the person who died in a bad way. Compassion in Dying surveyed over 2400 British adults who were asked to recall the experience of the last relative or close friend who died.
The single greatest change to affect the UK fertility sector in nearly two decades will take place tomorrow, Thursday 1 October, as the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended) comes into force. Changes which will come into effect with the new legislation include: * increasing the length of time people can store their embryos * a ‘cooling off’ period if one partner withdraws consent for embryo storage * extending information access rights for donor conceived people and donors * opening the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s (HFEA) Register for research * introducing supportive parenting into the welfare of the child provisions * banning sex selection for non medical reasons * clarifying the scope of embryo research
The controversy over the policing and prosecution of assisted dying intensified last night when another septuagenarian invited arrest and criminal prosecution by admitting that he helped his wife kill herself with an overdose of antidepressants. Barrie Sheldon, 77, from near Framlingham in Suffolk, said he helped his wife, Elizabeth, acquire more than 4g of antidepressants before leaving her to take an overdose. She had Huntington's disease, a hereditary condition which causes dementia and physical deterioration.
ACPO lead on homicide responds to the Mail on Sunday making it clear that where we recieve information or intelligence about assisted suicide cases, these investigations are pursued The police service is responsible for investigating cases of encouraging or assisting suicide involving British nationals whether it takes place in the UK or abroad. Whenever we receive information or intelligence about such a case, these investigations are pursued. It is therefore entirely misleading to suggest that ACPO is advising police officers not to investigate deaths abroad (“Assisted suicide 'is legalised' by police: Secret new guidelines from senior officers mean deaths are not investigated”, 24 Feb). The very purpose of such guidance is to assist investigation, by outlining specific considerations for investigators including the legal context and the need to engage with the CPS at earliest stages of an encouraged or assisted suicide inquiry. This is a complex area of investigation and over-si...
The police service is responsible for investigating cases of encouraging or assisting suicide, whether the actual suicide takes place in the UK or abroad and whenever we receive information or intelligence about such a case, these investigations are pursued. Following renewed guidance from the CPS, ACPO has developed specific guidance for police officers investigating such cases. The guidance encourages investigators to engage with the CPS at the very early stages of an encouraged or assisted suicide inquiry. When the police are informed of suicides that have taken place abroad this involves enquiries that lead to consideration of jurisdictional issues which can be complicated by other nations legal systems. Furthermore the progress of any investigation in part relies on the co-operation of foreign police services and agencies. It also requires any UK police force to be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the circumstances under which the person died and this can be difficult...
The husband of a woman who died in one of Britain's best-known hospitals is taking its management and the health secretary Andrew Lansley to court, alleging an illegal use of "do not resuscitate" orders. David Tracey claims doctors at Addenbrooke's hospital, Cambridge, twice put such orders in his wife's medical notes, cancelling the first after she objected to it only to put in a second three days later without her consent or any discussion with her. Tracey alleges the hospital's actions deprived his 63-year-old wife Janet of the right to life and subjected her to degrading treatment, while he was denied respect for his personal and family life. He is also seeking to force the coalition government to draw up a policy for England on the use of Do Not Attempt Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) instructions, and claims the present system of local policies is open to abuse.
The 2009 Equality Bill will, if enacted, make age based discrimination in the provision of health care and social care illegal for the first time in the United Kingdom. In a speech in 2008, the then health secretary, Alan Johnson, said, "Old age is the new middle age. Health and social care services need to adapt to the changing needs of today’s older people . . . to promote health in old age and help older people to maintain independence and quality of life."
Mistakes and near misses in fertility treatment are recorded by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority but until now details of the most serious cases have been kept secret. Eight of these mistakes were given grade A status, meaning they were the most serious incidents could involve events such as embryo mix ups, the death of a patient or an incident which affects a number of patients, for example, when a storage unit malfunctions and all embryos are defrosted and lost. In 2007/8 two of the eight grade A incidents involved mix-ups. A spokesman refused to give details but said they could be cases where the wrong sperm was used to fertilise and embryo or the wrong embryo was defrosted for use, but neither involved the implantation of wrong embryos. Last year there were 182 incidents out fo 52,000 cycles of treatment provided in Britain, the HFEA said.
Hospitals in north Merseyside are planning to use the anti-trespass powers used to ban “hoodies” from shopping centres to shift patients who are blocking beds. NHS Sefton board papers say that from this month patients deemed fit for discharge but who refuse “transitional” care home placements will be given 48 hours’ written notice to make their own arrangements. If a patient still refuses to leave, the hospital could seek a court order for possession of their bed. A well-placed legal source told HSJ the primary care trust’s approach would rely on trespass law, which allows owners to regulate the terms on which visitors occupy their premises.
Today I am publishing the Crown Prosecution Service’s policy on encouraging or assisting suicide. When it passed the Suicide Act 1961, Parliament specifically required discretion to be exercised in every case and my consent is needed before any prosecution for assisted suicide can be brought. In the case brought by Debbie Purdy last year, the House of Lords understood that. It did not question whether there should be a discretion to prosecute or not. But, accepting that discretion, it required me, as DPP, to “clarify what [my] position is as to the factors that [I] regard as relevant for and against prosecution”.