A leading doctors’ organisation has today warned that doctors face a greater risk of prosecution for assisting a patient’s suicide following the publication of the DPP’s final Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide.
The Medical Protection Society (MPS) – which provides indemnity, legal and professional support to around half of all doctors in the UK – said that the new policy sends a clear signal that prosecutions are more likely to be brought against healthcare professionals in circumstances where they might have assisted a patient’s suicide. The organisation warned doctors to be extremely cautious when providing help or advice to patients who are considering assisted suicide.
The changes made to some of the factors between the interim policy and the final policy are one of the main reasons for MPS’s concern. The final policy now includes a specific reference to the suspect acting as a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional as a factor in favour of prosecution. This is a clear extension of the factors which were set out in the interim policy. The interim policy only made reference to a suspect acting as a paid carer in a nursing home as a factor in favour of prosecution. Additionally, the fact that a suspect provided assistance to the victim in the course of their usual job which appeared in the interim policy as a factor against prosecution has been deleted from the final policy.
Dr Nick Clements, Head of Medical Services (Leeds) at MPS, said: “We welcome the clarification of factors which will be taken into consideration by the CPS when deciding whether to prosecute in cases of alleged assisted suicide. The policy will bring some comfort to individuals and those close to them who are faced by these complex and highly sensitive issues. However, the policy will be of little comfort to doctors confronted by assisted suicide cases.”
“We believe that the DPP’s final policy on assisted suicide places doctors in a much more risky position than before. While we recognise that the law on assisted suicide has not changed, the factors for and against prosecution send a clear signal that the actions of healthcare professionals will be carefully scrutinised and, in our view, may well set a lower threshold for bringing prosecution against them.”
“We have seen a rise in the number of calls to our advice line in recent years from doctors seeking advice on how to handle requests by patients who are considering an assisted suicide. When most people think about a medical practitioner assisting suicide they probably imagine the doctor giving the patient access to lethal drugs. However, there are many less obvious ways in which a doctor could be prosecuted for assisting a suicide. For instance, we have been contacted by doctors whose patients have requested medical or fitness to travel reports so that they can gain access to clinics such as Dignitas. The patient may not have initially made it clear to their doctor why they wish to have these reports but the doctor may harbour a suspicion about assisted suicide. A doctor who helps a patient with these requests may leave themselves open to a criminal investigation and prosecution.”
“We are advising doctors who have even the slightest suspicion that their patient may be planning an assisted suicide to proceed with extreme caution and not to comply with requests for medical or travel reports in these cases. Not assisting their patients in this way may expose doctors to complaints and may damage their relationship with that patient and their family, but unfortunately this is a risk that doctors will have to run in order to protect themselves. We also strongly urge doctors faced with these cases to seek urgent legal advice from MPS or their medical defence organisation.”
Dr Clements continues: “We would like to see more clarity around the position of doctors and other healthcare professionals faced with these difficult cases. Doctors want to be able to respond to the needs of patients and families in a sensitive and confidential way. It is not in anyone’s interests where a medical practitioner is forced to refuse to provide advice or medical reports to patients in a vulnerable position because they fear criminal prosecution.”
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