I am very grateful to the Minister for that update. Dementia is now the most prevalent mental disorder in the country and the leading cause of death in women. I think she will agree with me that, at the moment, only 30% of dementia cases ever get diagnosed. If we are to benefit from some of the new …
My Lords, I am a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, but what I am going to say this evening will, I fear, be unpopular in some quarters, including with my own royal college, which broadly says that these rising figures merely expose unmet need. I disagree. Rather, I agree almost entirely …
Does the Minister agree that while the current generation of drugs is not very efficacious—and, sadly, more research recently has demonstrated that it is not terribly good—the most important reason for early diagnosis, as we have said, is to get the services in that people need? We are talking about…
I just want to comment on some of these earlier amendments, particularly from the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin. I think the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay—I cannot remember whether it was last week or the week before that—reminded us that people who are terminally ill, or who have discovered that they are…
I do not know what the noble Baroness’s discussions with her patients are like, but I remember mine very well. A lot of discussion that goes on between a doctor and a patient does not get formally recorded but is part of the everyday conversation of a consultation. I think we must recognise that we …
My Lords, could I make it clear to noble Lords that, in the best legislatures that have implemented similar legislation to this one—and I am thinking of Oregon, the State of Washington and so on—assisted dying is a small part, a very tiny part, of a good palliative care service, and it is best deliv…
My Lords, I oppose the view of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, that we should have a completely separate service. That would target and isolate people who are dying. They will wish to be supported by the people who they have known through the course of their illness, so it is crucial that they be s…
The fact of the matter is that many of the things we are discussing would, in normal medical and social legislation, be contained in codes of practice. They will certainly need to be worked up in great detail for some of these issues to be covered, but it is not necessary to put them in primary legi…
My Lords, as a clinician for 50 years in the NHS, I find the noble Lord’s suggestions quite offensive. We have been asked to be kind today and I would ask him to be a little kinder to NHS clinicians in their decisions to try to help people at the end of life.
I just point out to the noble Lord, Lor…
My Lords, I add still more congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, on securing this debate on such an important topic; that is clear right across the House. I pay tribute to her for her long-standing and resolute championing of modern language teaching and much, much more.
I will spea…
My Lords, the noble Baroness has told us a very sad story about her brother, but it really is not on the issue that I am speaking of today. It is, of course, the case that decisions about life and death are made. What I am saying is that, in this case, the decision is to ask the state to enable the …
As the noble Baroness will be aware, I take a broader approach. The current in-patient model is totally outdated and cannot address adequately the inherent risks in the mental health in-patient system, so we have to move to new models of care which are integrated in the community. Those changes will…
My Lords, I enter this debate with trepidation. Unlike some noble lords, I am not a professional in medicine or law, but I have a view on this most complex matter that touches on so many aspects of humanity. Many of us will know of relations or friends who have died in pain. We must therefore do som…
My Lords, I am able to speak today only because of a chance discussion 18 years ago during a general health check-up in the USA. This led to a positive prostate cancer test back here in the UK, which gave me the opportunity to radically improve my health and extend the length and quality of my life.…