Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Debate between Baroness Fox of Buckley and Lord Birt

Committee stage
Friday 23rd January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Birt (CB)]

The one issue that unites the whole Committee is that we have to have an effective service of palliative care in this country. The data in Australia, which varies from state to state, tells us that somewhere between 70% and 90% of people who come forward already have palliative care.

The noble Baroness, Lady Fox, talked about navigation. It is a complex process, even in the Bill as it stands. If you analyse the likelihood, you will find that it will probably take, without the right process involved, 30 to 60 days, which is completely inappropriate in the context of the Australia experience. By the way, the navigator is an administrative role to help the person manage a complex system with multiple practitioners, who themselves have real authority.

[Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-Afl)]

To clarify, I am sure the noble Lord knows people who have tried to get a hip replacement or a wide range of other medical treatments. It is the most complex process that you could ever go through. Many people are vulnerable and could do with a navigator. Does he understand the two-tier nature of appointing a navigator in one instance and not in another? This follows on from the earlier question from the noble Lord, Lord Moylan. Can the noble Lord see that anything that seems to give preferential treatment to those seeking assisted dying over those who are suffering pain from a bad hip or who have a rare cancer and are terminally ill would cause political problems? Immorality might be part of the issue there.

[Lord Birt (CB)]

Believe it or not, I have had cause, at various times in my life, to navigate the NHS, as probably everybody in this Committee has, and of course it is very difficult. However, when you go into A&E, you effectively do have a navigator. I do not think this is about the hip operation example; it is about people in a genuine emergency situation.