Palliative and social care needs fixing before assisted dying debate, PM says

Palliative care and social care needs to be fixed before assisted dying is considered in the UK, Andy Burnham has said.

The Prime Minister was asked about his position on assisted dying, as MPs are set to again debate a Bill designed to legalise it when Parliament returns after its summer recess.

Mr Burnham told reporters: “I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first.

“That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care.

“I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.

“That’s the way I kind of see this, and that’s the position that I will stick to.”

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