St Leonard's Hospice on Assisted Dying Bill debate

Dr Bill Hulme, medical director at St Leonard's Hospice, said that the hospice will not be taking a side on the debate - which is due for its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday, November 29.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a private members' bill sponsored by MP for Spen Valley, Kim Leadbeater. If passed, through a series of proposed checks and balances, it would allow terminally ill patients to opt for an assisted death.

Speaking to The Press, Dr Hulme said: "Traditionally, a lot of hospices have been opposed to changes in the law. Our neutrality is based partly because the people we look after have a wide range of views."

Dr Hulme added that their neutrality is something that they’ve "discussed as an organisation".

"We didn't feel that we should have a stance one way or another, but we don’t want to be excluded from any debates," he added.

Both York MPs, Rachael Maskell and Luke Charters, have spoken of their voting intentions on the bill, with Ms Maskell - who is voting against the bill - calling for an improvement in palliative care provision.

Mr Charters says he will be voting in favour of the bill.

Dr Hulme added: "We’ve reached out to local MPs in the area that we do represent. The main concern is that people are part of a debate without being aware of its complexities.

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"If you look at people who traditionally access palliative care, they’re often people with a cancer diagnosis, even though the vast majority of terminally ill patients have long term conditions that aren't being picked up by the health system.

"I would certainly agree that there’s a huge portion of the population that aren’t accessing good quality palliative care. I think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in helping families get access to this.

"I’d like to think that it’s one of the few things that unites both sides of the debate, that there is a large need for palliative care. They’d need to address that issue."

One common argument against the current bill is fears that there could be a 'slippery slope' after it being introduced, with some claiming that restrictions could loosen and lead to a wider scope of patients being offered an assisted death.

"There’s always going to be a lot of uncertainty despite the safeguards," Dr Hulme said, adding that "the difficulties are apparent".

Despite Dr Hulme saying that the proposed legislation is the "biggest in my career" for hospices, he said that St Leonard's has not yet planned how to implement assisted dying in the event it became legal. 

"We’ll wait and see what happens if there is a change in law and if hospices play a part in that," he said.

"It’s come and gone over the years. I’ve always thought it will come to pass in my career so whether it's this time round is yet to be seen. I think it's probably more likely to pass than ever before, but whether it will or not is down to how MPs vote on the day."