Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

New guidance on dealing with complaints about assisting suicide

Press Release

14 Dec 2011

The General Medical Council is developing guidance for GMC case examiners and the Investigation Committee to help them decide what action to take if a doctor is alleged to have assisted in a suicide.

The issue of assisted suicide is complex and sensitive. We already have clear guidance for doctors that they must always act within the law and assisting or encouraging suicide remains a criminal offence.

Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the General Medical Council

The General Medical Council is developing guidance for GMC case examiners and the Investigation Committee to help them decide what action to take if a doctor is alleged to have assisted in a suicide.

A working group of Council members has considered the issues for the GMC raised by the case of a patient who wished to know what advice or support, if any, doctors could give to patients who were considering ending their lives.

The group decided to develop draft guidance for Fitness to Practise decision makers, which was considered by Council at its meeting today. There will be a public consultation on the draft guidance for GMC case examiners and the Investigation Committee in early 2012.

Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, said:

‘The issue of assisted suicide is complex and sensitive. We already have clear guidance for doctors that they must always act within the law and assisting or encouraging suicide remains a criminal offence. This guidance will not in any way change the legal position for doctors. It is not our role to take a position on whether or not the law should be changed; that is a matter for the relevant legislature.

'We recognise however that there are a range of actions which could be considered as assisting in a suicide, such as providing information to a patient about suicide or providing practical assistance for someone to travel to a clinic such as Dignitas. Some of these actions may not lead to criminal charges but may still lead to complaints to us about a doctor’s fitness to practise.

‘We therefore think our decision makers will find it useful to have guidance about the factors they should consider when dealing with an allegation that a doctor has assisted a person to commit suicide. Doctors, patients and others may also find it helpful if we set out clearly how we will consider complaints in this area.’

The guidance considers factors that might be relevant in determining the seriousness of each case, in the context of the different actions doctors may take in assisting patients who wish to end their lives. The new guidance will not cover euthanasia (in which a doctor’s actions have directly led to a patient’s death), as this is already covered in the current guidance for case examiners and the Investigation Committee.1

Notes to Editors:

(1) The current guidance for decision makers can be found in our Guidance for case examiners and the Investigation Committee.

 

  • The number of cases involving allegations relating to doctors assisting in a death investigated by the GMC is very small. In the last 10 years there have been three cases, one resulting from a conviction for assisting suicide in British Colombia. None of the cases arise from a conviction for assisting suicide in the UK.
  • Additional guidance to fitness to practise panellists will be considered separately, as part of the wider review of the Indicative Sanctions Guidance.
  • The advice to case examiners will be available on our website once it is finalised.
  • The working group is made up of medical and non-medical Council members.

For further information please contact the Media Relations Office on 020 7189 5454, out of hours 020 7189 5444/ 07920 461497, email press@gmc-uk.org, website www.gmc-uk.org.

The General Medical Council registers and licenses doctors to practise medicine in the UK. Our purpose is summed up in the phrase: Regulating doctors, Ensuring Good Medical Practice.

The law gives us four main functions:

  • keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors
  • fostering good medical practice
  • promoting high standards of medical education and training
  • dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt