Debbie’s dignity

IRRESPECTIVE of the moral dimension to Debbie Purdy’s ongoing right-to-die campaign, there is an obligation on healthcare providers to ensure that the terminally ill have access to medication that could prolong their lives – or to relieve their pain and suffering during their dying days.

By The Newsroom

Published 29th Mar 2011, 07:00 BST

As Ms Purdy, from Bradford, made clear to MPs yesterday with the eloquence that has seen her become one of the country’s most respected, and persistent, health campaigners, there remain great disparities in the guidelines that are being followed by local NHS trust.

This “postcode lottery” is likely to become even more stark if the Government passes responsibility for huge chunks of the NHS budget to individual GP surgeries, a move that threatens to undermine the “national” element of the Health Service.

Leaving aside the assisted suicide argument, Ms Purdy makes a powerful argument that Health Secretary Andrew Lansley should acknowledge before his ill-conceived reforms cause even more unnecessary anguish.