This episode expands on a discussion I had with Nick Ferrari from LBC around assisted dying, specifically in response to Wes Streeting statement that he is “not sure that as a country we have the right end-of-life care available to enable a real choice on assisted dying.”

It’s my first solo episode and I explore  the reality of end-of life-care provision,  debunk some of the emotive discussion around assisted dying and share the choices we all have now. 

Key messages

• Around 90% of us want to have a say in decisions at end of life but only 9% of us have a Lasting Power of Attorney  and 5% have an  Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment

• A terminal diagnosis is a driver to poverty, being less comfortable financially will impact the symptoms you have at the end of life

• The current provision of palliative care is inconsistent

• Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment and Lasting Power of Attorney are legal tools we can use now as part of proactive choice

• We can legally now stop artificially feeding people and indeed not start the treatment

• There are three ways to make a lasting Power of Attorney, DIY, through a LPA Consultant or a solicitor

• An Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment must follow a set framework or need formal registration

Resource

• You can her the interview in full at LBC catch up with Nick Ferrari (on 24.10.2024 at 02:39:49 - 02:46:03)

• Read the The Better End of Life Care report  2024 

• Read Assisted Dying – an open letter to Esther Rantzen 

• Access Clinically-assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) and adults who lack the capacity to consent Guidance for decision-making in England and Wales