It is ‘absolutely vital’ that nurses are included within the education and training that would be created if assisted dying legislation is introduced in the UK, a committee of MPs has been told.
Chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Professor Nicola Ranger and chief nursing officer (CNO) for England Duncan Burton have given evidence to the assisted dying bill’s parliamentary committee.
It comes after the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its second reading stage in November, and is now being considered by MPs in several committee sessions.
The bill would allow adults in the last six months of their life to be medically assisted to die in England and Wales, and in its current form has various safeguards for those who want to seek assistance to end their own life – including that patients must be 18 and a resident of England or Wales with mental capacity to make the choice on assisted dying.
It still has several steps to go through before any potential changes to the law would come into force.
Professor Ranger told the parliamentary committee scrutinising the bill that it was ‘pertinent’ that nursing staff can ‘build on the skills they already have’ to deliver the end-of-life care that each patient needs through the right education and training.
And if passed, Professor Ranger said nursing staff would have to be ‘very vigilant around anyone feeling that they’re a burden’.
‘Our job is to be vigilant and to refer safeguarding anywhere where we think there is any form of abuse,’ she told the committee.
She added that there would be a difference between the care nurses provide patient’s seeking assisted dying, and those receiving palliative care.
And Professor Ranger said it was ‘absolutely vital’ that the CNO played a ‘key part’ in drawing up guidance going forward, given the central role of nurses in delivering end-of-life care.
Also appearing before the committee, England’s CNO Mr Burton highlighted that psychological support would be needed for nurses involved in the assisted dying process.
‘We would need to look at that and to make sure that there is sufficient support in place for anybody working in these situations,’ he said.
Mr Burton added that ‘safeguards’ for staff must be ‘really clear’ and pointed to the ‘range of views and opinions’ that nursing staff will hold on assisted dying.
Last November, the UK’s CNOs published advice to nurses and midwives wanting to take part in the debate around assisted dying.
Together they recognised the complexity of the topic and that many nurses will hold ‘informed professional opinions and perspectives’.
The bill has divided opinion among MPs and the public, including members of the nursing workforce.
While the RCN holds a neutral position on assisted dying, its members voted to ‘support the principles of assisted dying’ at RCN Congress in June this year.
