🧵/ I agonised over whether to write this Sunday Times piece. Whipped-up emotion, hate & vitriol now dominate discussions of assisted dying on here - appallingly. We have to be able to converse in good faith - & concerns should not be dismissed as "noise". (1/n) www.thetimes.com/article/5188... - ThreadSky

doctoroxford.bsky.social • 7 days ago

🧵/ I agonised over whether to write this Sunday Times piece.

Whipped-up emotion, hate & vitriol now dominate discussions of assisted dying on here - appallingly.

We have to be able to converse in good faith - & concerns should not be dismissed as "noise". (1/n)

https://www.thetimes.com/article/5188f451-050e-422e-a125-3fb811f2cd6c?shareToken=4ee0a92bb37d3e72fa6bb1e35cb1f72c

Comments

docmartyn.bsky.social•7 days ago

An excellent piece, Rachel! Makes me think of Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow. A careful examination of the risks of a change like this needs detailed, slow thinking

lizalaw.bsky.social•7 days ago

Thank you for this thoughtful and considered article, Rachel. It reflects my concerns as a not anti-assisted dying experienced palliative care nurse. It seems to have become an almost evangelical cause for some and the complexity needs recognition. An MDT approach would help

marysmith2.bsky.social•6 days ago

It is time for choice. If people do not want to use this choice that’s fine, but for those planning ahead for ‘Switzerland’, it’s an important option. The current state of palliative care makes choice more important than ever. I do not intend to die in pain, in my own excrement, in an NHS hospital.

judithsuffolk.bsky.social•7 days ago

There are other countries where this is legal. Why are we reinventing the wheel instead of starting with a proven structure from elsewhere then adjusting for our own cultural norms and risks? It would be quicker and potentially safer and give a comparative measurable.

dr-lungs.bsky.social•7 days ago

Leadbeater claims to have looked at other countries. But in some of them what started as the kind of limited situations with safeguards as supported in the second reading rapidly expanded to include wider groups including dementia, depression, children, and in Canada lack of social care provision.

drbarrymonk1.bsky.social•7 days ago

Well done on the article. The proposed Bill assists no one, proponents or opponents of AD

lila7.bsky.social•7 days ago

Glad you did write it.

Leadbeater is so biased and has so much power (why? because of her sister?) that we need whatever we can get to investigate what she’s doing and what it might lead to.

Would you trust her with life or death matters?

colinwaldock.bsky.social•7 days ago

Even more important within the current geopolitical climate.

ldw1.bsky.social•7 days ago

Thank you. Sadly, not everyone acts from the highest motives. The religious right, US-funded, are tending to the doctrinaire rather than the compassion that Jesus advocated. To my eye, the pros are - generally - behaving better.

ldw1.bsky.social•7 days ago

And it must be acknowledged that history - even very recent - does not encourage one to think that their God is a loving one. https://bsky.app/profile/k8lister.bsky.social/post/3li5rqmaof22v

ldw1.bsky.social•7 days ago

This is a poisonous example. AFAICS there is no evidence to support this view, so one can only call it a lie.
(And the opaquely funded groups are RW and anti - see Tufton St.)

ldw1.bsky.social•6 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/bluewavesurfer.bsky.social/post/3lidi2xsurs22

doctoroxford.bsky.social•7 days ago

I am not anti assisted dying at all.

But - based on my years of experience in palliative care - I am painfully aware of the need to get the safeguards right. (2/n)

doctoroxford.bsky.social•7 days ago

I was honoured, daunted & apprehensive about being called to give evidence to Kim Leadbeater's bill committee. (3/n)

hotchkiss13.bsky.social•7 days ago

In principle I see the need for this. Then I think about the use( missuse?) of DNR during Covid and the number of illegal hospital care transfers the nhs carried out.

doctoroxford.bsky.social•7 days ago

Most of those on the committee were sincere, well-informed & very keen to learn more from the array of experts giving evidence over 3 days of testimony. I found this incredibly heartening.

There were, sadly, one or two exceptions. (4/n)

doctoroxford.bsky.social•7 days ago

Kim focused in on the need for gold standard training for all involved in end-of-life discussions to help ensure safety - a point I wholeheartedly endorse.

(Worryingly, in my experience doctors can struggle with assessing capacity & coercion, esp in palliative care.) (5/n)

doctoroxford.bsky.social•7 days ago

What concerned me most was the disconnect between some of the assumptions in the room & the realities of actual NHS medicine.

The recent furore over the replacement of High Court judge approval of cases of AD with a 'Judge Plus' multidisciplinary panel is a case in point. (6/n)

doctoroxford.bsky.social•7 days ago

Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are common in all branches of medicine, not only palliative care.

They help us make decisions about what treatments & interventions to offer to a patient, based on all the different ways we know the patient.

Crucially, MDTs pool expertise. (7/n)

berniescroggins.bsky.social•7 days ago

Has anyone spoken to Switzerland about how they manage safeguards etc? Surely it makes sense to speak to a country who are already making it work for people?

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