Euthanasia- has it really come to this?

Euthanasia- has it really come to this?

 Reflected in today's statistics, England possesses the highest suicide rate since 2004.  But this goes further, as a more global pandemic. WHO predicts the incidence of mental health will soar from 25% to 50%  by 2020.

I see that many people still try to deny that stigmatisation exists. That in part is the problem. By denying a problem exists, we remove our ability to change it. I know that simple recognition is a vacuous achievement in the face of the stark reality but people are counting on healthcare professionals to take a stand. We save lives, by building an environment, where “excellence in clinical care would flourish”.

 A great many people, still don’t have access to mental health support. Times are changing, and the 21^st Century is seeing advancements in the sector. You would think that the news of this, was startling enough. What could be worse than suicide rates increasing? Euthanasia- assisted suicide. Until recently, I was not aware that it was even legal. As a health professional, abiding by the patient-centred approach, implicitly means to do no harm. Then to even considered this, goes against all instinct. I may concede that certain conditions may call for this; certain terminal cancers at a stage where death may be a mercy. To find that the same approach was proposed for mental health sufferers, was at the very least disconcerting.

The rudimentary characteristic of psychiatric conditions is that it robs the victim of sound mind. It, therefore, baffles me that this is even considered a viable alternative offered inpatient care. During my research, I found the procedure was legal Belgium. The clinical psychologist, Ariane Bazan, describes how all possible mental health treatments must first be exhausted before this is proposed. But this in no way mitigates the glaringly obvious fact that this is assisted suicide. In primitive terms, this can be tantamount to saying, “ we have no other treatments available for you, and it seems wrong to leave you in pain, so … would you consider suicide?”. 

Euthanasia is a glamorous, word for the very thing that we go to such lengths to avoid. It negates the effort and funding put into years of mental health research. Why does it come to this? As some struggle in the “battlefields” searching for a solution, others have tragically been handed a solution with no return.

This is not fear-mongering, this heralds the need to end denial, and realise  “without mental health, there can be no true physical health”. If we are to make a change in the status quo, we must address existing, attitude dynamics towards mental health in society. Mental health must be seen to be encompassed within a mind-body dichotomy, inextricably linked and not separate issue. It needs to be recognised and addressed rather than avoided or worse, made to seem terminal.