Member

There has also been little acknowledgement of what jurisdictions abroad do. I had the honour of chairing a contingent from Australia, where assisted dying is practised with regulations, safeguards and societal acceptance. These systems are not static; they evolve. They are refined and integrated into broader models of care. Perhaps more importantly, there has been too little focus on how we might design such a system well in this country. We already know how to build nationally led, locally delivered systems with clear standards, safeguards and oversight. For example, organ transplantation is nationally co-ordinated, rigorously regulated and ethically governed, yet delivered in specialist centres close to patients. The question is not whether we can design such a framework, as we repeatedly do this in complex areas of medicine and public health. It is whether we are willing to apply the same seriousness, governance and clinical maturity to this issue.