Lord Blencathra (Con)

I think that I will have to check the record, as I firmly remember the noble and learned Lord using the word “possible”; it will be “possible” to discuss this. I think that most noble Lords who have spoken do not want the possibility of it being discussed but the certainty of it being discussed, and that may require an amendment to this part of the Bill. Many noble Lords made the point that you cannot get any NHS treatment or any medical treatment these days unless the doctor takes elaborate steps to explain the consequences, the downsides and things that could possibly go wrong. That extends through all aspects of health. Two days ago, I went down Victoria Street to buy a packet of Night Nurse in Boots. I was interrogated: “Have you taken this medication before, are you taking other medication with it, are you aware it can make you drowsy?”—they were practically asking, “Are you going to fly a jet plane after this?” It goes to that extent in selling drugs. Noble Lords were concerned that, when people are getting treatment to help cure them, they get every single thing explained, but they would not get it explained to them in detail if it is a treatment to kill them. Some may say, “What does it matter? If you’re going to take a drug that will kill you, why do you need to know the side-effects?” Well, you do not need to know the long-term side-effects, of course, but you do need to know any side-effects the drugs may have. As the noble Lord, Lord Goddard, said, NICE guidelines say that no drug can be supplied unless it is approved by NICE. But NICE approves drugs to treat you; it does not approve a lethal dose. We have seen in the United States death row places where people are given a cocktail of drugs. In the old days, it was straightforward: it was a drug that could kill you. Now, they are given drugs that, taken individually, can help your life, but, when given in combination to put someone to sleep, slow the heart and all the other things, those cocktails eventually kill them. We have heard horrendous stories of the cocktails not working and the person waking up. Noble Lords have raised questions about what would happen if a patient who is given a lethal cocktail or drug wakes up; we just do not know what the consequences would be.