On dignity, which seems to be the driving force for legalisation. But some deaths under MAiD feel more dignified than others.
May 16 • 26 tweets • 6 min read
Ahead of today’s assisted dying Bill debate, I thought I’d do a thread of FALSE FACTS. You know… campaigning soundbites, PR spin. That come up again and again. And are persuasive… but wrong.
FALSE FACT: 20 people per day would die with unrelieved pain even if they received high quality palliative care
TRUTH: This a back-of-envelope calculation based on a terminally flawed assumption. Details: blogs.bmj.com/spcare/2025/03…
Apr 24 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Yesterday I was grateful to give evidence about palliative care (wrt the assisted dying Bill) at an event in Parliament. This is what I said 🧵
1. Palliative care works. We have decades of research that shows palliative care improves quality of life for patients, reduces EOL hospital admissions and improves wellbeing for carers.
It works best when provided early, as an extra layer of support.
Feb 11 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
The TIA bill committee seem v confused about the difference btw assisted dying and refusal of life-sustaining treatment.
It comes up again and again, esp from @LewisAtkinson
So here’s a brief explainer 👇🧵
Q: why would we assess capacity differently for a request for assistance to end one’s life compared to a refusal of life-sustaining treatment?
Yes, both are life/death decisions. Both are complex decisions. Both can arise in terminal illness.
But, differences are significant…
Jan 28 • 19 tweets • 3 min read
Listening to Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill oral evidence sessions.
CMO has twice said of assessing capacity “if you ask 6/7 doctors you”ll get the same answer”
This is absolutely not my experience.
He has also said that parliament must debate whether assisted dying is provided as part of the NHS.
