A charity boss fears some hospice staff and volunteers may resign if the assisted dying bill becomes law, as the sector braces for profound changes.
In an already under-resourced workforce, Hospice UK’s chief executive Toby Porter fears the passing of the controversial legislation could see workers who disagree with the bill exit the sector.
He said there were many complicated, unanswered questions around the future of end-of-life and palliative care, but he is certain all aspects of hospices would be significantly impacted.
Mr Porter, who runs the charity representing more than 200 hospices across the country, told The Independent: “It is unquestionable that there is a major risk of an already under-resourced workforce saying, ‘I can't hack this, this is too controversial, I'm gonna go off and work somewhere else.’”
He admitted there could be complications around workers not wanting to engage with an assisted death, but said staff and volunteers would not make any final decisions until there was more clarity around what the legislation could look like for hospices.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was first introduced in October 2024, would allow terminally ill adults who are expected to die within six months to have the option of an assisted death.
The deeply controversial bill is currently being considered by the Lords and must be approved by both Houses of Parliament by early May to become law.
However, the Lords have heard that the bill risks being tabled as peers have put forward a record high of more than 1,000 amendments.
Kim Leadbetter, the Labour MP behind the bill, accused peers opposed to the legislation of attempting to “sabotage” it, as campaigners including Dame Esther Rantzen accused peers of “filibustering” by trying to "talk out" the bill. But many insisted they are doing their job of scrutinising legislation they currently think is unsafe.
Peers have since been granted a further 25 hours of sitting time, with longer sessions being held on Fridays to "meet the will of the House".
If passed, charities would have to make huge investments in talking to their staff, patients and volunteers, Mr Porter said, as a law change would cut across wellbeing, religious, ethical, and political beliefs and issues.
“Different team members will feel very differently, there could be divisions within teams that have never experienced that before,” he added. “Some people might feel demoralised, some people might feel rather pleased at a change in the law.”
Mr Porter has also questioned how assisted dying could jeopardise the reputation of hospices and public donations.
He said: “Hospices benefit from really uncontroversial status within communities… In this one instance, we may find ourselves on the front line of the new and very potentially polarising legal right.
“Whatever the position and the outcome that a hospice board eventually takes, there will be people who will be disappointed and who will publicly criticise the hospice.”
Hospice UK has taken no collective view on the bill.
Mr Porter said the sector could also face financial pressures if it does not receive the required funding.
He said: “You could see a problem with the commitment that's been made in principle that the introduction of assisted dying wouldn't impact on existing palliative care services, because if a hospice had to spend more and more management, attention and time on this stuff, it would directly pull away from their other work.”
Dignity in Dying is one of the UK’s main campaigners for assisted dying and believes that a blanket ban on choice at the end of life is dangerous and unpopular, and must change.
Throughout the bill’s debate, the group has advocated for improved end-of-life care, which it says must go hand in hand with assisted dying to give dying people choice and control.
Anti-assisted dying group Care not Killing has also advocated for earlier access and better palliative care, but with a goal of ensuring that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed.
The groups argue that a law change would put pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives and subject them to abuse.
James Sanderson, chief executive of the palliative care and bereavement charity Sue Ryder, said the possibility of the bill passing into law accelerates the need for reform in the sector, in which issues of inequality and increased demand for care must be addressed.
“There is a very real fear, both among people with terminal illness and the wider public, that if people can’t access all the care they need, which is the current reality for one in four people at the end-of-life, they may view an assisted death as a better option for them,” he said.
“In a polarised debate on assisted dying, I am willing to bet that all people, all parties and all sides of the debate would agree that this is wrong.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Hospices do incredible work to support people and families when they need it most, and we recognise the extremely tough pressures they are facing.
“This government has made the biggest investment in hospices in a generation - £125 million in capital funding – to improve hospice facilities, freeing other funding for patient care, and has also committed £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices over three years.”
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