RCGP to consult with members on legalisation of assisted dying

The Royal College of GPs has voted to consult with members as to what its position on the legalisation of assisted dying should be.

This follows discussion at the RCGP's UK governing Council meeting today where Council members - elected representatives of the wider UK College membership - voted on two options:

• to agree to move to a position of neither opposing nor supporting a change in the law to legalise assisted dying; or
• to mandate the College to undertake a new all-member survey to inform a future UK Council decision on the College’s in principle stance on the legalisation of assisted dying.

39% of members voted for the first option, 61% voted for the second and no members abstained.

The College’s current position, adopted by RCGP Council in 2020 following a member consultation in 2019, is to oppose a change in the law on assisted dying. At the time, College Council agreed not to review its position until 2025 unless there were significant societal developments of the issue. Whilst no timeline for the forthcoming consultation has been agreed, it will likely report at some point next year. Until the review process concludes, the College’s position remains the one that was adopted by Council in 2020, that the RCGP is opposed to a change in the law to legalise assisted dying.

The decision comes the day after a vote in the House of Commons where MPs voted to support a Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that, if voted in law, will allow eligible adults in England and Wales who are terminally ill to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life. In Scotland, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill remains at first stage as MSPs consider the general principles of the legislation.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Whether people who are terminally ill have a right to die when they choose is one of the most contentious and sensitive issues society is grappling with. It is a personal, societal and legislative issue and something GPs will - and do, as previous surveys have shown - have widely differing views about. It is also something that following Parliament's vote yesterday may well become permitted in some form in England and Wales, and remains under consideration in Scotland.

“Nevertheless, it was felt by members of the College’s governing Council that the process of reviewing the College’s stance on whether assisted dying should be legalised – including any move towards neither opposing nor supporting a change in the law – must be informed by a consultation with members.

“However, regardless of the outcome of this consultation, and recognising yesterday’s vote in Parliament, the College will have a clear role in advocating for our members, regardless of their views on assisted dying, as to how potential changes in the law will impact on their daily practice and the care they deliver for patients. We will also continue to push to ensure palliative and end of life care, much of which is delivered by GPs and our teams, is the best it possibly can be.

"As well as ensuring there are robust safeguards in place to protect patients, it's imperative that no GP feels as though they have to participate in offering assisted dying services – and that any assisted dying service is provided as a separate specialised service and not as a part of core general practice. It's also crucial that resources are not diverted from general practice - or palliative care services - in order to deliver them.

“Patients who are at or near the ends of their lives are some of our most vulnerable - above all else, it is vital that regardless of whether assisted dying is permitted for terminally ill patients, they still have access to the best possible palliative and end of life care."

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.