Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Terminally Ill People: End of Life Options

Tuesday 12 January 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial commitment to improving end-of-life care quality
  • Andrew Mitchell thanked the NHS for its work during Christmas and New Year
  • Suggestion made to work with coroners and the Office for enhancing evidence and understanding

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andrew Mitchell Con Sutton Coldfield
NHS
Context

The question arises from a need to gather more data on experiences of terminally ill individuals to better inform future debates and policies regarding their options at the end of life.

Question

What plans does he have to improve the evidence base for future debates on the options available for terminally ill people at the end of their life?

Answer from Matthew Hancock

Care at the end of life is a crucial part of our health and care system, and we are committed to improving the quality of care for those at the end of life. Current practice is informed by a range of evidence, including guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The Government are open to gathering data on the experiences of terminally ill people in order to inform the debate.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer avoids providing specific plans or commitments for improving the evidence base, only stating openness to gathering more data without a concrete timeline or mechanism.

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Q2 Andrew Mitchell Con Sutton Coldfield
NHS
Context

The question stems from a concern about the high percentage of suicides by people who are terminally ill and seeks to understand the extent of these tragedies through better data collection and analysis.

Question

May I also express my gratitude to the NHS in all its many forms for their hard work over Christmas and new year, including giving me a new knee? To add to knowledge, information and understanding, will the Secretary of State and his Department make a point of working with coroners and the Office for National Statistics from across the country so that we can understand the true extent of these tragedies?

Answer from Matthew Hancock

I am very happy to look at the suggestion that my right hon. Friend makes on this very sensitive subject. We want to see the highest possible standards of patient safety and, of course, to reduce the number of suicides, and it is important in pursuing that to have as much information and evidence as possible.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide a specific commitment or plan for working with coroners and ONS; instead, it expresses willingness to consider the suggestion without concrete next steps.

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