Fix palliative care before debating assisted suicide says PM

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that fixing the funding of palliative care must come before any debate on assisted suicide.

Launching a new initiative on social care reform today, the Prime Minister spoke about the need for a ‘national care service’ and to lift up care workers to be “the best paid workers in society, not the least”.

Facing questions from the press for the first time since he became Prime Minister, Andy Burnham was asked about his position on assisted suicide. Responding to the question from Sky News, the Prime Minister said:

“Personally, I think there's something that needs to happen first and that's the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care. I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care. That's the way I see this and that's the position that I will stick to.”

Burnham recognised that there ought to be a debate on assisted suicide at some point, but affirmed the need to provide well-funded palliative care before that could happen. He did not say anything specific about Lauren Edwards’ reintroduction of the Ter­min­ally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill championed by Kim Leadbeater in the previous session of parliament. This Bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons on 11th September. However, it is clear that assisted suicide is not the new Prime Minister’s focus at this time.