Why we need to take a holistic view of the assisted dying debate - Daxa Patel

The law as it stands - assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. In Scotland, this is not a specific criminal offence, but assisting death is open to a charge of murder.

Campaigners in favour of a change in the law with assisted dying such as Dignity in Dying will say that assisted dying allows a person with a terminal condition the choice to control their death if they decide their suffering is unbearable. They argue for choice, compassion and dignity, and who can argue against these fundamental rights, I do not. They also argue that along with good care, dying people who are terminally ill and mentally competent adults deserve the choice to control the timing and manner of their death.

The opposite view is expressed by the Care Not Killing Campaign group; they argue that the focus should be on “promoting more and better palliative care” as opposed to a change in the law. Their point being legalising assisted dying could “place pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a financial, emotional and care burden upon others.”

Again, this argument resonates with me, as this was of concern to my dad. This group fears that disabled people, elderly, sick and depressed groups would be at greater risk if assisted dying were legalised.

Now, sitting on the fence for such an important topic is not my style, and while I am in favour of choice, compassion and dignity, my head asks what else can we do to improve the support we offer to those and their families who are on the end of life journey.

I have been open about how there are gaps in how we validate people going through the death, dying and grief process in my book from experience, and how if we improve and accept death as a sacred event, and empower those going through this we can make it as graceful as the birth of a newborn.

As for what more we can do to improve the lives of people at the end-of-life stage I do believe there is more we can do to improve our health and social care services to support terminally ill people. The connection between the demand for a change in law to legalise assisted dying has a direct bearing on how we perceive and support those affected by the dying process, which to be blunt it is all of us, as at some stage or other we will come face to face with end of life.

Death is not a new thing but what is changing is the advance of AI, innovation in science, and medicine which means people are living longer yet there is also more suffering from diseases.

Community and public policy, along with the will of the government as facilitators can bring what affects us all an original approach, and by this, I mean a kinder approach to dying.

The new national purpose must be to re-imagine the delivery of a joined-up health and social care service where the dying can feel confident of a dignified, comfortable, and kind end to their lives, and families can feel supported.

And we have challenges, but challenges force us to look at out of the box solutions. We have a growing older population, complex medical and funding issues, along with the lack of a right attitude to serve the dying. There needs to be a shared vision on this matter given that we all have a personal stake.

The Marie Curie Better End of Life Report 2024 report, based on a survey done through the office of National Statistics, will not be surprising.

Patchy and inconsistent provisions of care applied to end of life with overstretched services, though excellent care provided by carers at home and hospice staff. Health and care staff lacking enough time to care.

Carers feel unprepared, unsupported and traumatised lasting into bereavement.

I mentioned to Dame Esther Rantzen whom I admire deeply and consider as a role model that I was writing on this matter. Dame Esther said: “It would be wonderful if you could ask your readers to write to their MP explaining why they believe the current cruel, messy, criminal law urgently needs to change. Terminally ill people like me should have the choice, if our lives become unbearable, not to shorten our lives, but shorten our deaths.”

Daxa Manhar Patel is a leadership coach, author and solicitor.