Hospices could provide assisted dying services, Liam McArthur suggests

Hospices could provide assisted dying services as part of the “continuum of support” that aims to “alleviate suffering and uphold dignity”, the MSP spearheading a bid to change the law has suggested.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur has introduced a member’s Bill to Holyrood that aims to give terminally-ill adults the right to request help to end their own life.

Speaking at the Hopsice UK conference in Glasgow, the MSP said that “by incorporating assisted dying into their services, hospices can offer a continuum of support that aligns with their mission to alleviate suffering and uphold dignity”.

Arguing that his Bill “aligns with the values of hospice care”, he added: “Looking ahead, I want to see a Scotland where assisted dying is seamlessly integrated into a compassionate, inclusive framework for end-of-life care.”

He added that in areas where assisted dying is legal some “hospices have successfully integrated assisted dying into their care models” – although he added that some faith-based hospices “disallow assisted dying entirely”.

Mr McArthur – who acknowledged the decision to invite him to speak at the conference had “not been without controversy” – also stressed the importance of palliative care for patients reaching the end of their life.

He said there is a need to “invest more” in this sector, adding that his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill had “shone more of a light on this issue”.

The Liberal Democrat was also clear that the question of palliative care, such as that provided by hospices, and assisted dying was “not an either/or question”.

Mr McArthur insisted: “We need both improved investment in and access to palliative care alongside the choice of an assisted death for those who meet the eligibility criteria.”

He added that despite “excellent” palliative care, many people “currently die in pain”, with the Lib Dem saying: “We know that people ask to be helped to die, people want it to be over, people don’t want their death to be protracted, and their families to suffer.”

He said his Bill was “grounded in a simple but profound principle – that individuals deserve compassion, support, autonomy and dignity as they approach the end of life”.

And he told the conference: “To me, this mirrors the ethos of hospice care, where patient-centred, compassionate support guides every decision.”

His comments came as MSPs on Holyrood’s Health Committee are examining the general principles of the Bill – which is expected to come before all MSPs for a crucial vote in the late spring/early summer of 2025.

Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said: “This was an important opportunity for colleagues from the hospice sector to put their concerns and questions to Liam McArthur.

“Rigorous questions and challenges were raised by colleagues from a range of roles across the hospice sector, including the question of whether hospices would be expected to provide assisted dying, which is not clear in Mr McArthur’s Bill.

“Significant concerns raised also included the fundamental challenge that palliative and end of life care in Scotland and the UK is currently underfunded and not reaching everyone who needs it.”

Palliative care consultant Dr Juliet Spiller, who is backing the Better Way campaign against assisted dying, rejected Mr McArthur’s claim the Bill “aligns with the values of hospice care”.

She insisted: “Assisted dying and palliative care are very separate things. Palliative care is life-affirming and neither prolongs nor hastens the dying process but focuses on managing symptoms and helping people live well until they die.”

Dr Spiller went on to say there are “huge dangers in conflating assisted dying with hospice care and palliative care in the minds of the public”.

She said: “People receiving hospice care either at home or as an inpatient need to be reassured that they are valued. They should know palliative care as a safe space of support where fears and anxieties can be expressed and unpacked as part of holistic care without worrying that this might prompt an offer of early death and the associated societal pressure that brings.”