A man has had his life ended by euthanasia after being turned down for hospice care because his disease was twice deemed not serious enough for hospice care, according to his daughter.
Colleen De Vos, from Canada, revealed how her father, who had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), had his life ended by euthanasia in 2023.
“My father wasnʼt very forthcoming with his intentions, unfortunately”, De Vos said.
According to Colleen, after her father’s diagnosis worsened, she and her family attempted to arrange hospice and at-home palliative care, which could have helped manage her father’s symptoms and made the end of his life more comfortable.
Shestated, “We were advocating very strongly for hospice care or [an] at-home palliative program. He seemed to agree with that”.
Despite the family’s efforts, Colleen’s father was turned down for the care he needed on two occasions, with Colleen revealing that his condition was not deemed to be serious enough to warrant such care.
“That was a surprise to us because we could see he was deteriorating very quickly”, she added.
While the family was struggling to arrange the care that her father needed, a nurse practitioner who was overseeing his at-home care reportedly began to speak privately with her father about ending his life using Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide programme.
“The irony of the availability of [euthanasia] that could be arranged very quickly sidelined us very much”, Colleen said. Compared to the difficulty they faced in obtaining hospice care, by contrast, Colleen said it was “very simple” for her father to end his life by euthanasia. Colleen recalled receiving a “cardboard box in the mail” containing the drugs and supplies needed for the procedure.
On the day that her father was scheduled to have his life ended, a hospice bed became available. However, in a “heartbreaking” decision, Colleen’s father declined the bed, having already resolved to end his life, in what she said was “because of his loss of hope”.
“We absolutely were prepared to provide him with round-the-clock care”, she added.
Assisted suicide debate in England and Wales comes at a time of crisis for palliative and hospice care
Around 170,000 people die each year in England with “both significant levels of unaddressed symptoms and concerns and inadequate access to sufficient care from GP services” – approximately one person every three minutes – according to a recent report by leading end-of-life charity and provider of hospice care Marie Curie.
The report also estimates that, in the next 25 years, unmet palliative care needs are expected to rise by 23%, meaning an additional 40,000 people are expected to die with unmet palliative care needs in 2050 compared to 2025.
Matthew Reed, the chief executive of Marie Curie, said, “The mark of a civilised society is how we look after the most vulnerable. There’s no reason why in an advanced economy we can’t get this right. End-of-life care is not a surprise – we’re all going to need it one day. We should be planning as a society for how we get that right for people”.
Reed stated that, for the majority of people, palliative care remains “chaotic and unplanned”.
Prime Minister does not believe that assisted suicide should be introduced in a care crisis
The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has said that the debate around introducing assisted suicide should not take place in a context where palliative and social care remains poorly funded, confirming “that’s the position I will stick to”.
Responding to a question from Sam Coates, deputy political editor of Sky News, Burnham said, “I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first”.
“That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care”.
“I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in the context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care. And that’s the way I kind of see this”, he added.
The revived assisted suicide Bill faces a vote at Second Reading in the House of Commons on 11 September, when MPs can reject the Bill outright.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “It is with deep sadness that we read of the story of Collette De Vos’ father, who felt obliged to have his life ended by euthanasia due to a lack of access to end-of-life care.
“We cannot allow ourselves to permit such a tragedy to occur in our country, which would almost certainly become the case if assisted suicide were to be made legal here in the midst of our current crisis in care.
“MPs must heed these warnings and vote against the new assisted suicide Bill at its Second Reading on 11 September”.
