Prue Leith and Assisted Dying.

[Jaichangecentfoisdenom]

I happened on this discussion earlier today, on LBC:www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/david-lammy/prue-leith-makes-case-for-assisted-dying/ I've made it clear to my family that when the time comes, if I'm suffering from a terminal illness, I'm off to Dignitas in Switzerland - but I'm lucky, we can afford it. Religious reasons aside, what would you want for family and yourself?

My parents both had excellent end of life care and mu mum's final days were peaceful.
I do not want to be killed. I do want good end of life care.

And if you have a condition like dementia which even the best care cannot make a difference to..?

People can have dementia for many years. So you are talking about killing physically healthy people potentially because of their brain condition.

People can have dementia for many years. So you are talking about killing physically healthy people potentially because of their brain condition.

Dementia is a living death. It leaves most a shell of themselves and with little to no quality of life. The suffering people with dementia often endure is utter hell. It's no less terrible than being left in constant pain.

Personally even if I were one of the few who are relatively contented I'd still want to die. That's no life. It's an existence. The person I was is gone forever. I don't want to exist as a mere fragment of that.

Don't speak for everyone with Dementia. My dad has been diagnosed since 2016 and is loved and living a valued life. He is not a zombie.

But you’re not perfectly healthy if you have dementia, you have dementia which eventually kills you. And it’s utterly terrifying for people who have it. Frankly I would rather be alive and in some physical pain than with dementia.

What a disgusting way to speak about humans with an illness.

Don't speak for everyone with Dementia. My dad has been diagnosed since 2016 and is loved and living a valued life. He is not a zombie.

I'm genuinely glad that he is but he's very much in the minority. I've worked as a professional carer, a volunteer with people who have dementia and cared for 2 family members with it and those who are content and have a reasonable quality of life are very much the exception in my experience.

Well, it’s a disgusting illness. Life is harsh and cruel isn’t it?

Had to watch my dad on end of life slowly being starved and denied water to hasten his end. Far kinder to give an injection to end it as far as im concerned. Awful.

Animals are treated better in this respect

What a disgusting way to speak about humans with an illness.

It's the reality of what it does to people imo. It's very much a living hell and having watched people with dementia sit and literally scream their heads off because their minds are so broken or scream begging to die, including my late Grandmother I won't apologise for that.

People can live with Dementia for many years before it is those awful things. You're writing off years of good living.

So you get a diagnosis of dementia and get killed?
Loads of people live alone with early stage dementia. Others live a fairy normal type of life with sticking to a routine. My uncle was fine with moderate dementia as long as he was in the same routine every day. He couldn't be left alone as he would try and cook and would not be safe. But he still went to the local shop every day for his newspaper, talked to neighbours and went down the local pub for a drink with friends once a week. When he was admitted to hospital for a not very serious condition though he suddenly seemed like he had quite severe dementia as he could not cope with the change in routine.

There can be a long way from ordinary life to very severe dementia.

People can live with Dementia for many years before it is those awful things. You're writing off years of good living.

There's very little good living with dementia. Again only a "lucky" minority get to enjoy any real quality of life. That's the reality of it I'm afraid. And personally if I'm unlucky enough to develop it I'd rather pass through the different stages of it as quickly as possible. It's only in the last two months that my Great Aunt has stopped being extremely distressed and agitated, constantly pacing the corridors and she's had it for 2 years. I'm actually relieved that she's actually further advanced now because the early stages were even worse.

@Xrays , I'm with you on this, also lost my beautiful mum to bowel cancer and
It was awful, as far from a peaceful death as they come and she was tough!

I am sorry to hear that. A relative of mine died peacefully with bowel cancer. I was not expecting it to be peaceful but it was.

So you get a diagnosis of dementia and get killed?

I think people should be allowed to decide if they want that, yes. And I certainly do. Personally I don't want to live a day with dementia. I don't care how "content" I am. Once I'm no longer me, I'd rather be off. I've no interest in continuing on with an continually deteriorating brain and sense of self. Quality of life every time for me. Quantity matters much less to me.

I'm still haunted by some of the people I cared for who had dementia. Much of it felt like the very opposite of care because the person was so distressed and confused that everything we did was like torture for them and not care.

Yep you should be able to sign a document at any time in life saying should dementia be diagnosed at any point, you consent to being compassionately euthanised.

I was coming on here to say exactly this.

My mum had dementia and died last year (not due to dementia). My dad has dementia now. Looking around care homes made me realise that I wouldn't want to go like that. It's a half life at best and I would like to end my life before that stage.

However I also think assisted dying had too many issues associated with it. Therefore I'm willing to sacrifice my wishes because I can see the many flaws.

Too far. Much too far.

My mum had a diagnosis of dementia and actually had a good quality of life for a good few years - 5 at least. Euphanasia at diagnosis would have been far too soon.

And if you sign that document, but the version of you with dementia wants to live - what then? Do you want doctors to hold you down and kill you?

My aunt has dementia. She is also bedridden after a fall she had 5 years ago. She spends a lot of her days screaming and shouting about the demons in the room - she hallucinates a lot. She has to be changed like a baby, has no quality of life and can only lie in bed. The only way she can sit up is if they put the end of the bed up. It is utterly heartbreaking for my uncle, who is her 24 hour carer.

We have to be very specific about different types of conditions. Scary degenerative condition might be worth assisted dying. Terminal cancer - great palliative care in a nice environment and usually the patient has capacity to refuse further treatment. Although on the latter I do have to state that I do not see why real end of life cancer patients have to go through the last 2 weeks with relatives sitting by and the torment that entails for both family and patients. I do see how it is difficult though to ask every doctor to have to administer drugs for a premature end.
Alzheimer’s/dementia etc the person has no capacity and it has to be spelt out early on in very detailed legal language what their wishes are with regards to withholding basic medication including eg. Antibiotics, diabetes medication etc and how to keep them comfortable.
The slippery slope for me is young persons who are struggling with health and mental health issues. I think it would be far too difficult for doctors to ask them to end a young persons life. So I think age comes into it too but it will be very difficult to pass laws without being ageist at the same time.

That has happened. A case with a woman with dementia who had signed an advanced directive beforehand. She told Drs she was not ready to be killed and they geld her down and killed her.
People talk about killing people with certain conditions in a very niave way. It really is not that straightforward.

You could not pay me any amount to hold someone down and kill them without their active consent. And I would seriously question the sanity of anyone who would.