If passed by MSPs, the Bill will allow eligible, terminally ill adults in Scotland to request assistance by health professionals to end their own life.
We are committed to supporting our members to provide high-quality end of life care, ensuring a comfortable and dignified death. Since 2009, we have held a neutral position on whether the law on assisted dying should be changed, which reflects our members' differing views on the issue and means we neither support nor oppose attempts to change the law.
All our work to comment on and influence the Bill will be guided by this neutral position. However, if passed by MSPs, the Bill would see registered nurses play a significant role in the assisted dying process. The Bill sets out that, once a terminally ill adult has been assessed by two doctors as being eligible and has made two separate declarations that they wish to be provided with assistance to end their own life, assistance can be lawfully provided by a doctor or a registered nurse.
We therefore have a responsibility to engage in the parliamentary process to ensure that the Bill contains the necessary safeguards to protect nurses and nursing practice. We are working to protect both nurses who may wish to participate in assisting a death under the framework established by the Bill, and those who may not wish to participate.
We have submitted evidence about the Bill to the parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. We also anticipate being called to give evidence in person to the Committee in the coming months. At the same time, we will continue our engagement with Liam McArthur, the MSP who introduced the Bill to Holyrood.
That’s where you come in. To help inform this ongoing work, we have launched a survey to gather members’ views on the Bill. This is not a survey about the principle of assisted dying. Rather, it seeks your views on the role of the registered nurse and the safeguards needed to protect nurses, if this legislation passes.
We want to hear from nursing staff working across a wide range of services - no matter what your views are, or whether you think this Bill will impact your particular role. Please take 10 minutes to share your voice with us on this important issue. We would also ask that you discuss the survey with colleagues to help raise awareness and encourage them to complete it too.
We recognise that this is a complex, emotive and deeply personal topic, so thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experience.
If you would like to keep up to date with our work in this area, please email: policyscotland@rcn.org.uk. Please note that our work is focused on informing MSPs about the impact of the proposals on nursing and ensuring that the Bill contains the necessary safeguards to protect our members and is not about whether assisted dying should be legalised.
