Family doctors in England and Wales could be trained to assist patients in ending their lives if the assisted dying bill passes Parliament, according to a government 'death dossier'. The proposed training includes a 90-minute e-learning course and an hour-long interactive online session for all general practitioners, described as "general awareness" training.
Documents reviewed by the Daily Mail also model a more intensive, full-day in-person training for GPs, offering detailed knowledge of how an assisted dying service would function. Doctors designated as coordinating doctors would require further advanced training. This could involve explaining the drugs used to induce death, collecting medication from pharmacists, and providing it to the patient. The dossier also suggests that these doctors might prepare the substance and assist the patient in ingesting it, though the final act must be performed by the patient.
Doctors involved in the process would be required to remain with the patient until death occurs or the procedure is clearly unsuccessful. Healthcare professionals who do not wish to participate would have the option to opt out of the training.
The controversial assisted dying bill, which aims to allow terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to choose to die, is scheduled for another debate in Parliament next Friday. The bill previously passed the House of Commons but stalled in the House of Lords due to numerous amendments.
Opponents of the bill have criticized the proposed training as inadequate for decisions concerning life and death. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) document also indicates that hospital specialists in cancer, neurology, elderly medicine, and palliative care might receive more intensive, in-person training.
England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, previously noted the need for specific training for medical professionals involved in the later stages of assisted dying, suggesting a tiered approach from initial conversations to participation in final stages.
Under the proposed legislation, terminally ill adults in England and Wales could seek an assisted death if approved by two doctors and a multidisciplinary panel including a senior lawyer, psychiatrist, and social worker. Critics, such as Dr. Gillian Wright from Our Duty of Care, a network of healthcare workers opposing the bill, have expressed concerns that the proposed training is insufficient to detect coercion or undue influence, potentially endangering vulnerable patients. They advocate for increased investment in mental health care and end-of-life support services.