Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2026 [Draft]
I ask colleagues from across the chamber to support my amendment 250 and the consequential amendment 309, which would ensure that any assisted dying provision in Scotland was delivered through a dedicated specialised service rather than through general practice.
I hear Jackie Baillie’s point on that. The proposal is similar to other amendments. Amendment 250 is necessary to ensure that any system that we create is safe, informed and as compassionate as possible. It seeks to answer the question: if such a service is introduced, how should it be delivered? We must recognise the reality that faces general practice. As we know, GPs across the country are already operating under pressure. Asking general practice to absorb an entirely new, complex and emotionally demanding clinical responsibility risks placing further strain on the system.
More importantly, a briefing from the Royal College of General Practitioners suggests that many GPs would not feel able to participate in assisted dying. Engagement with the profession indicates that a significant proportion of GPs would choose not to take part whether for ethical, professional or personal reasons. That is entirely understandable but it also means that expecting assisted dying to operate through patients’ own GPs would be neither practical nor equitable.
It is entirely possible that, in some communities—perhaps particularly in rural or less populated areas—many local GPs could opt out, which could result in a postcode lottery whereby access to a lawful service depended on where a person happened to live. Amendment 250 introduces a dedicated service that would avoid that risk.