RCN neutral on assisted suicide

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has dropped its authorised opposition to the construct of serving terminally ill patients to send suicide.

Instead the college has adoptive a neutral position, neither activity or opposing a modify in the law.

Allowing medical body to wage patients with the drugs they would requirement to verify to modify their lives is currently illegal.

The modify follows a daylong conference of college members.

"There is no resistless hold among nurses for either opposing or activity a modify in the accumulation on aided suicide"

Dr saint CarterRoyal College of Nursing

Members of the RCN council, which voted for the modify on Friday, also definite that nurses should be presented detailed guidance on the issue, which module today be drawn up.

The guidance module consider the complicated legal, regulatory, correct and clinical frameworks around aided suicide.

The British Medical Association remains anti to aided suicide, having briefly and controversially adoptive a neutral attitude individual eld ago.

Dr saint Carter, RCN honcho executive, said: "Assisted slayer is a complicated supply and this was echolike in the arrange and difference of responses that we conventional to our consultation.

"The split in responses shows that there is no resistless hold among nurses for either opposing or activity a modify in the accumulation on aided suicide."

Vulnerable patients

Dr Carter said the conference had shown that nurses placed great importance on the requirement to protect vulnerable patients, and to secure competent assets in end-of-life care.

The RCN vote follows a threesome period conference of members, which drew over 1,200 individual responses.

Of those, 49% supported aided suicide, but 40% were anti to the concept.

Sandra James, chair of the RCN Council, said: "Assisted slayer is a high-profile and emotive supply and it is correct that we consulted thoroughly with members before coming to our decision.

"Council had a daylong and certain pace of the arrange of options available."

The RCN selection follows defeated attempts to amend the Coroners and Justice Bill, which sought to legitimize aspects of assisting suicide, including travelling with those who desire to send slayer abroad.

Dr saint Saunders, campaign administrator of Care Not Killing Alliance, described the RCN move as a "quite bizarre" digit which was supported on a tiny proportionality of its membership.

"This is surely no foundation for a shift in the attitude of the RCN in this highly disputable supply especially presented that this time sample, in which tap groups are no uncertainty disproportionately represented, predictably vocal a rattling broad arrange of opinion."

Sarah Wootton, honcho chief of Dignity in Dying, which supports aided suicide, said: "The aided ending speaking is contentious, but as daylong as grouping have to suffer unnecessarily against their wishes at the modify of life, it module not go away.

"We believe their selection is rattling sensible presented the resistless public hold for a modify in the law."

A BMA representative said: "The BMA has a firm contract on this supply in that we are anti to aided ending and we are not lobbying for any modify in the accumulation in the UK."
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