The Medical Protection Society (MPS) is seeking clarification about the position of doctors who become aware that their patient is considering ending their life in circumstances that might amount to criminal charges.

The recent House of Lords decision requiring the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to look at the factors which would be taken into account in deciding whether to bring a prosecution in such cases is helpful. Much of the debate so far has focused on whether relatives or spouses should face prosecution for assisted suicide, but there also needs to be discussion over the difficult position health professionals may find themselves in.

Currently, most patients will travel outside the UK, for example to the Swiss clinic Dignitas for an assisted suicide. According to Swiss law, Dignitas can only accept people who are terminally ill or suffering unbearably from symptoms that cannot be relieved, so they cannot help people whose condition may improve either by itself or with treatment. To ensure these conditions are met, Dignitas requires a patient's medical records and a certificate of fitness to travel before an appointment can be made.

Speaking about the dilemmas doctors currently face, Dr Nick Clements, Head of Medical Services at MPS says: "Although patients in the UK have a legal right to request their medical records without giving a reason, if the patient is terminally ill the doctor may suspect that the patient is considering going elsewhere for an assisted suicide. Therefore doctors need clarification over whether they are at risk of prosecution if they provide reports about the patient's condition or fitness to travel in the knowledge that this information will be passed on to clinics like Dignitas."

Dr Nick Clements continues: "We also need clarification over whether doctors have a duty to inform the authorities, either in the UK or elsewhere, if they are aware that their patient is intending to take their own life by way of assisted suicide. It is clear that this is a complex legal and ethical issue and a delicate emotional matter, however, the law remains unchanged at present and doctors who find themselves in such circumstances should be cautious and seek the advice of their Medical Defence Organisation, before they take any steps."

MPS has written to the Secretary of State for Health and will raise these issues with MPs when they return in the autumn.

Source
Medical Protection Society