RCN Scotland writes to Scottish and UK Governments seeking clarity on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill

Mr Gray outlined to members of the Committee, the Scottish government's position that certain provisions in the Bill – specifically those they view as relating to regulation of health professionals and employment rights – need to be removed before the final vote, as they are deemed to fall beyond the legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament . If the Bill is passed, these provisions would be dealt with via consequential regulations at Westminster and Mr Gray outlined that negotiations between the Scottish and UK government on this issue are ongoing.

The Bill currently includes provisions stating that health professionals would be under no duty to participate and must not be subject to any detriment whether they choose to participate or not. RCN strongly supports these provisions and successfully campaigned to have them included and strengthened during stage 2 of the Bill.

Our letter asks the Cabinet Secretary to set out exactly which provisions in the Bill have been identified as potentially needing to be removed and to detail the reasons. It also expresses concern about the proposal to remove some important provisions from the Bill at this late stage. 

We reiterated our continued neutral position on the principles of assisted dying, while emphasising that our key priorities include ensuring that nursing staff have a real choice about whether to be involved in the provision of assisted dying and are sufficiently protected regardless of their choice. 

Colin Poolman, Executive Director, RCN Scotland, said:

“The right to choose whether or not they are willing to be involved in assisted dying, and the associated necessary employment protections, are issues of vital importance for our members. If this Bill is passed by MSPs, clear protections must be in place to safeguard nursing staff who want to be involved, and those who don’t want to be involved.

“We are concerned that Scottish government intends to remove these protections from the Bill, as dealing with these issues after the final vote would involve far less scrutiny from MSPs and the professional bodies representing health professionals. The Scottish and UK governments must work together to progress these issues at pace and provide the Scottish Parliament with a detailed update on how they will resolve these issues and ensure strong protections for health professionals, ahead of the final vote.”