Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “The RCGP neither supports nor opposes assisted dying becoming legal. As the Lords consider the Bill, it is vital that if Parliament decides to make assisted dying legal, clear steps are taken to protect the interests of all patients, particularly the most vulnerable and healthcare professionals, and that palliative care is appropriately resourced.

“This should include ensuring that any assisted dying service should be a standalone specialised service that GPs and other healthcare professionals may opt to provide with additional training and should not be deemed core GP work.

“It is also vital that any assisted dying service would need to be separately and adequately resourced and should not, in any way, result in a de-prioritisation of core general practice or palliative care services.

“As a College, our focus remains to advocate that any changes in the law are implemented in the fairest and safest way, with robust protections for patients and GPs.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.