‘Doctors will be protected by law’
GUERNSEY’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality health care professionals will not suffer if assisted dying proposals are successful, according to current and retired medical staff.
Former Health minister Hunter Adam, former Royal College of Nursing chairwoman Sandra James and other practising and retired professionals have come out in support of an assisted dying regime.
The Royal College of Physicians, a professional body dedicated to improving medical practice, and the General Medical Council have also made their positions known.
Professor Jane Dacre, the president of the college, has written to Gavin St Pier, one of seven States members taking assisted dying proposals to the States this week.
Professor Dacre said the college does not currently support a change in the law, but that it ‘would be able to support local physicians to develop safeguards that would be acceptable to them and to support decision-making in this complex area’.
Members will be balloted on the issue in 2019.
Meanwhile, the General Medical Council has said it ‘would be willing to have a further discussion’ as and when a specific legislative proposal is drawn up.
Last week, Deputies St Pier and Lyndon Trott scaled down their requete by removing the ‘agreement in principle to assisted dying’ that was written into the original requete.
Mr Adam, a retired consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, said the introduction of Guernsey’s abortion law in 1997 showed that major legislative changes can be made without damaging the profession.
‘Any legislation to allow assisted dying would include legal protection for health care professionals who do not wish to be involved in such decision making,’ he said.
‘There are established protocols enshrined in the abortion law and there is no reason why similar protocols cannot be used for assisted dying.
‘When Guernsey was considering the legislation to allow abortion there were fears that its introduction would make it difficult to recruit and retain doctors. There is no evidence to suggest this happened. It is unlikely that recruitment or retention of health care professionals would prove difficult if appropriate legislation to allow assisted dying was in place.’
Mrs James, who is also a former deputy, said she was ‘delighted’ that his debate was taking place.
‘As a nurse for my entire professional life, having the patient at the centre of all care means that the individual should have the right to choose an end of life option,’ she said.
‘My former colleagues who provide palliative care do an outstanding job, but this debate is not about the quality or quantity of palliative care.’
Retired Guernsey doctor Stephen Heyworth said a patient’s quality of life in their finals days is of paramount importance.
‘You are not maintaining life if you withhold nutrition and hydration. which a terminally ill person can request if they want to die,’ he said. ‘This could be far more stressing for the patient than assisted dying. The only differences between the two are a positive action instead of inaction.’
Dr Dean Patterson, a cardiologist with the Medical Specialist Group, said Guernsey’s ageing demographic highlighted the need for this debate.
‘As a local physician, I am delighted to learn that the Royal College of Physicians has now confirmed that they will be consulting their members in 2019 and also that they would be able to support local physicians to develop safeguards and support the patient’s decision making,’ he said.
‘As our population ages, it is increasingly important that we enable patients to be able to make advance decisions. These will require the same controls and protocols as for assisted dying to ensure that the patient is giving informed consent and is not subject to undue pressure, much as we do already for patients who decide to cease treatment.’
Deputy Trott said the requerants had ‘always maintained that if the law changed, the medical profession would change its guidance’.
‘There is precedent for this with differing abortion laws across the British Isles. It is pleasing that the Royal College of Physicians has now confirmed that it would be able to support physicians to develop the necessary safeguards and the General Medical Council has recognised they too would need to develop new guidance.’
