Meeting of the Parliament 11 March 2026 [Draft]
As we all know, occasionally people do not die as expected from taking a lethal substance. I will not debate how often that happens; I am sure that it is very rare, but it does happen. Ingestion of medication is not a reliable route for some people, especially if they are already ill. People may vomit the medication or fail to absorb a lethal or rapidly lethal amount. The person may then not die, or the process of dying may be more protracted and distressing than expected.
Amendment 44 would require the Scottish Government to produce regulations on how such situations should be managed. I will come to the Government’s concerns once I have put this on the record. Although uncommon, that is a scenario of major concern to healthcare professionals, and we cannot wish that away. The role of any clinical professional to intervene in such circumstances where complications arise needs to be made clear. That could be a co-ordinating registered medical practitioner, staff at the location where an assisted dying takes place or the Scottish Ambulance Service, if called to the scene, so the issue goes beyond just the registered medical practitioner. The duties of all such staff in those circumstances need to be clearer. There must be clear regulations, as far as possible, on what must or must not happen in such circumstances. I think that Mr Kerr was trying to get to that point during his commentary.
Such regulations are important in ensuring that the public and families are clear about what a healthcare professional must, can or cannot do in such circumstances.