Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of
the Royal College of Nursing, said:
“ As the world’s largest professional nursing union, the
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has always listened to and learned from
our members, spoken out for nurses and stood up for patients – and
we will continue to do so. That’s why we find Dignity in Dying’s
slur that we ignored the views of our members deeply offensive and
wholly inaccurate.
_ The RCN recognises that many nurses
hold differing views on the issue of assisted dying which is why
we embarked on an extensive
consultation with our members. Each of the RCN’s 380,000-plus
members was given the opportunity to make their views known through
the RCN’s Bulletin magazine and via the RCN website.
_ We sought the views of members
with specialist interest and expertise in our forums, representing
more than 50,000 members. We
gathered the views of members across the four countries, making use
of the RCN's extensive regional network of officers and regional directors,
and we consulted with a number of external organisations. In addition,
we surveyed more than 1,000 of our members through our Bulletin magazine,
70% of which endorsed our current position.
_ During the course of consulting
our members, the RCN was lobbied by special interest groups including
the Voluntary Euthanasia Society
(now Dignity in Dying) and subjected to an external lobby via a postcard
campaign.
_ Although we have listened to all
these different viewpoints, as a member-led organisation we have
rightly chosen to base our position
on assisted dying on verifiable RCN members' views rather than allowing
a serious consultation to be hi-jacked by special interest groups.
_ The RCN recognises assisted dying
is an emotive issue for our members and we have always welcomed an
open and informed debate among
our membership. That is why this issue is on the agenda at our annual
Congress in Bournemouth this week. The RCN is committed to continue
pressuring the government to invest in palliative care and providing
better education for nurses and doctors so they can ensure patients
can end their lives in comfort and with dignity.”
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(RCN) on 23 April 2006. For further information, please visit their
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