Updates
June 2010: END OF LIFE DECISIONS
CASE: R (Purdy) v Director of Public Prosecutions [2008] EWHC 2565; [2008] WLR (D) 337
CRIME — Aiding and abetting — Suicide — Degeneratively ill claimant anticipating need of husband’s help in committing suicide — Whether Director of Public Prosecutions unlawfully failing to provide guidance on likelihood of prosecution — Suicide Act 1961, s 2(1) — Human Rights Act 1998, Sch 1, Pt 1, art 8
JUDGEMENT:
QBD: Scott Baker LJ and Aikens J : 29 October 2008
The Director of Public Prosecutions did not act unlawfully in failing to publish detailed guidance as to the circumstances in which individuals would or would not be prosecuted under s 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 for assisting another person to commit suicide.
The Divisional Court of the Queen’s Bench Division so held when dismissing an application by Debby Purdy for judicial review by way of a declaration that her rights under article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms had been infringed by the failure of the Director of Public Prosecutions to publish detailed guidance as to the circumstances in which individuals would or would not be prosecuted for assisting another person to commit suicide.
www.lawreports.co.uk/WLRD/2008/QBD/oct0.6.htm
Section 2(1) Suicide Act 1961 provides:
"A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another, or an attempt by another to commit suicide, shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years."
DPP publishes interim policy on prosecuting assisted suicide
The public interest factors in favour of prosecution identified in the interim policy include that:
- The victim was under 18 years of age;
- The victim's capacity to reach an informed decision was adversely affected by a recognised mental illness or learning difficulty;
- The victim did not have a clear, settled and informed wish to commit suicide; for example, the victim's history suggests that his or her wish to commit suicide was temporary or subject to change;
- The victim did not indicate unequivocally to the suspect that he or she wished to commit suicide;
- The victim did not ask personally on his or her own initiative for the assistance of the suspect;
- The victim did not have a terminal illness; or a severe and incurable physical disability; or a severe degenerative physical condition from which there was no possibility of recovery;
- The suspect was not wholly motivated by compassion; for example, the suspect was motivated by the prospect that they or a person closely connected to them stood to gain in some way from the death of the victim;
- The suspect persuaded, pressured or maliciously encouraged the victim to commit suicide, or exercised improper influence in the victim's decision to do so; and did not take reasonable steps to ensure that any other person did not do so.
The public interest factors against a prosecution include that:
- The victim had a clear, settled and informed wish to commit suicide;
- The victim indicated unequivocally to the suspect that he or she wished to commit suicide;
- The victim asked personally on his or her own initiative for the assistance of the suspect;
- The victim had a terminal illness or a severe and incurable physical disability or a severe degenerative physical condition from which there was no possibility of recovery;
- The suspect was wholly motivated by compassion;
- The suspect was the spouse, partner or a close relative or a close personal friend of the victim, within the context of a long-term and supportive relationship;
- The actions of the suspect, although sufficient to come within the definition of the offence, were of only minor assistance or influence, or the assistance which the suspect provided was as a consequence of their usual lawful employment.
www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/144_09/
April 2009
New pilots announced to bring health and social care together
DH, 1 April 2009
“Ben Bradshaw, Health Minister and Care Services Minister, Phil Hope, have announced the sixteen pilot sites in a £4m trial looking at how health and social care services can increase quality of care by joining together. The scheme will explore how services can be improved for users and patients and assess the benefits of different care models and any best practice that can be applied across the UK. Partnerships, new systems and care pathways across primary, community, secondary and social care will be used to tackle specific local health issues in the pilots, such as substance misuse, dementia and end of life care.“
The Care Quality Commission
“The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Our aim is to make sure better care is provided for everyone, whether that’s in hospital, in care homes, in people’s own homes, or elsewhere.
We regulate health and adult social care services, whether provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations. And, we protect the rights of people detained under the Mental Health Act.”
www.cqc.org.uk
From April 2009, NHS acute trusts, NHS ambulance trusts, NHS mental health trusts and primary care trusts have to be registered with the CQC and comply with requirements relating to healthcare associate infections.
New NHS Complaints System
Principles behind the new system include a focus on outcomes, not processes. The new system aims to provide a satisfactory outcome through swift local resolution, by:
- unifying and simplifying the NHS and social care complaints handling system
- removing the inflexible processes that currently exist in both systems
- Dealing with each case according to its unique nature and the expectations of the complainant,
New, Guidance for the Care of Older People
www.nmc-uk.org
October 2008
NMC (2008) Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (April 08)
www.nmc-uk.org
High quality care for all: NHS Next Stage Review final report (2008)
Final report of Lord Darzi's NHS Next Stage Review. It responds to the 10 SHA strategic visions and sets out a vision for an NHS with quality at its heart.
www.dh.gov.uk
Generic medical recordkeeping standards (2007)
“This document sets the standards for general medical note-keeping by physicians in hospital practice. These standards have been developed by the Health Informatics Unit (HIU), which is part of the Clinical Standards Department of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), London and were supported by NHS Connecting for Health”
The purpose of these standards is to:
- maximise patient safety and quality of care
- support professional best practice
- assist compliance with Information Governance and NHS Litigation Authority (CNST) Standards.
Mental Health Act 2007 C.12 aims to update the 1983 Act, with a new code of practice (2008)
www.opsi.gov.uk
