UK’s Burnham says assisted dying debate must follow fixes to palliative care

“Personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first, and that’s the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care,” U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said debates on assisted suicide should be delayed until the country’s palliative and social care systems have been reformed.

“Personally, I think thereʼs something that needs to happen first, and thatʼs the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care,” Burnham said on July 29. “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.”

Burnham spoke with reporters after outlining his social‑care reform plans at Jewish Care in Golders Green, a northwest London suburb. Burnham, a Catholic, praised the facility for its “model of community” and the Jewish values that shape its care in a July 29 op-ed following the speech.

“They understand that care means treating people not as the sum of their different ailments, but as a human being with history and character, deserving of all the dignity and respect that comes with that,” he wrote. “Building a stronger care system and building a stronger country begin with the same belief: that every person belongs, that every community matters, and that no one should ever be made to feel like a stranger in the place they call home.”

Burnham said England must urgently fix social care, which supports people with daily living needs. The U.K.’s publicly funded national health system cannot recover without it, Burnham said.

Burnham’s speech came after the House of Commons passed the end-of-life bill, but the measure did not advance in the House of Lords. The bill will be debated again in the next parliamentary session.