Leading psychiatrists across North Yorkshire have warned assisted dying legislation making its way through Parliament could undermine the very principles of mental health care.

Assisted suicide is not a "treatment", they outline in a new letter backed by dozens of the region's doctors, calling for any ambiguity as such to be removed and warning if could change the landscape of NHS care.

Preventing suicide is at the "core ethos" of mental health provision, one lead tells The Yorkshire Post today, urging politicians to think carefully over any delivery of change.

"As soon as you say it's a treatment, as soon as you say it's the NHS, it changes the landscape of providing care," said Harrogate consultant psychiatrist Jeff Clarke, calling for clarity and action to remove any ambiguity over language in the proposed Act.

Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater has led the legislation.

placeholder image — Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater has led the legislation.

"Suicide prevention is at the core ethos of mental health care.

"There is a danger, in the way the Act is drafted, that it's going to damage the NHS and in particular mental health care in a way that is not intended.

"Psychiatrists, like everyone, have a range of opinions on the principle of assisted dying - some are in favour and others against," stressed Dr Clarke, insisting this was not about the core ideas but about the language and finer details of law.

"This is not a safe and sensible way to go about it."

Spen Valley MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill for England and Wales narrowly passed its third reading in the House of Commons in June.

It would allow people with less than six months to live to seek an assisted death, and is currently being considered in the House of Lords as it makes its way to becoming law.

MPs had voted to send the legislation to the Lords with a narrow majority of just 23, and among high profile figures to support the bill were Dame Prue Leith, Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, and the broadcaster, Jonathan Dimbleby.

But earlier this year the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) set out a statement outlining that it is unable to support the legislation as it stands in its current form.

Instead the representative body, which remains neutral on the overall principle of assisted suicide, called on MPs to consider 10 points around wording and safety.

Now, more than three dozen senior NHS psychiatrists across North Yorkshire and County Durham have signed a letter echoing these concerns.

In particular, they highlight three areas around terminology, delivery and expectations.

The Bill requires that the only doctor on every review panel must be a psychiatrist, but critics warn today they are not equipped or trained to determine terminal illness.

"One of the core functions of the panel is to satisfy itself that the person is terminally ill, and psychiatrists don’t have the right expertise for that task," the letter outlines.

They call for an element of assessment to determine any mental disorders, for example, to see if someone is depressed and to offer treatment for that. Ultimately, they warn, assisted dying is not a treatment and it should not be presented to patients in this way.

"There should be no professional obligation on clinicians to raise it with patients alongside treatment options," they warn.

The letter goes on to read: "Not including these requirements in the bill undermines fundamental principles of best practice in mental health care."

Some 37 senior psychiatrists have signed the letter, including a number from York, Scarborough and Northallerton. They call on members of the House of Lords to act on recommendations and to amend the Bill as it makes its way through Parliament.