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A
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Bill
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[AS AMENDED ON REPORT]
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To
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Prohibit
the withdrawal or withholding of sustenance with the intention of
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causing the death of a patient.
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Be
it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and
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consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present
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Parliament assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:—
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1 Offence
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(1) It
shall be unlawful for any person responsible for the care of a patient
to
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withdraw or withhold sustenance from
the patient if his purpose in doing so is
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to hasten or otherwise cause the death
of the patient.
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(2) If
the consultant in charge reaches a decision to withhold or withdraw
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sustenance, he must record the reasons
for so doing in the patient’s notes.
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(3) In
this Act—
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“patient”
means a person suffering from mental or physical illness or
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debility;
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“sustenance”
means the provision of nutrition and hydration, however so
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delivered.
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2 Exceptions
to section 1
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(1) No
offence will have been committed under section 1(1)
if any of the
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requirements in subsections (2) and
(3) below are met.
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(2) The
patient—
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(a) requests
the withdrawing or withholding of sustenance; or
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(b) does
not give consent to the provision of sustenance; or
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(c) does
not give consent to the recommended intervention to provide
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sustenance.
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(3) In
the case of a patient who lacks capacity to consent, consultation by the
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doctor in charge with the next of kin
or legally appointed representative has
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taken place, and the provision of sustenance—
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(a) is
likely to cause significant discomfort to the patient without
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improvement in his condition, or worsen
his illness or debility; or
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(b) is
likely to result in no improvement in the illness or debility of a dying
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patient.
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(4) For
the purposes of subsection (3) a patient lacks capacity if he is unable
to
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understand in broad terms the nature
and effect of the decision to withdraw or
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withhold sustenance.
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3 Duty
of care
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There shall be a general duty on all those
providing nursing care for a patient
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to offer appropriate sustenance to the patient.
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4 Short
title, commencement and extent
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(1) This
Act may be cited as the Patients’ Protection Act 2003.
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(2) This
Act shall come into force at the end of one month beginning with the day
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on which this Act is passed.
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(3) This
Act extends to England, Wales and Northern Ireland only.
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