Assisted Dying Bill 2025: What it means for UK care homes

The Assisted Dying Bill will, if it is passed, legalise assisted dying for people in England and Wales. Also called the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, it is only for those who are terminally ill and expected to live for six months or less.

It could bring major changes for care homes across England, Wales, and the wider UK care sector.

Key points

Bill overview: The Assisted Dying Bill would legalise assisted dying for mentally competent adults in England and Wales with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less.

Progress and impact: Introduced by MP Kim Leadbeater, the Bill is currently in the House of Lords. It would mainly affect older adults, who make up most UK deaths.

Care home implications: The Bill could bring financial, ethical, and training challenges for care homes. There is also uncertainty around whether they can opt out.

Global and medical context: Assisted dying is legal in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, parts of the US and Europe. UK medical bodies now take a neutral stance.

Who will be most affected by the Assisted Dying Bill?

The Bill, introduced by MP Kim Leadbetter, has been passed by the House of Commons and is currently in the House of Lords Committee Stage.

The Bill will need to complete its passage through Parliament by Spring 2026.

It is older people who will be most affected by this Bill as nearly 70% of deaths in the UK are in those over the age of 75.

The majority of assisted deaths in countries where it is legalised are in people over the age of 65.

What is the legal position on assisted dying in the UK?

There is currently a ban on assisted dying in the UK.

Currently, hundreds of people every year, travel to Dignitas in Switzerland to die as they do not have this option in the UK.

In England and Wales, ‘assisting a suicide’ is a crime with a maximum sentence of 14 years. A similar law is in place in Northern Ireland.

There is no specific crime of ‘assisting a suicide’ in Scotland. But helping a person to die could lead to prosecution for culpable homicide.

How will legalised assisted dying work?

• They will need to be aged 18 and over
• Be terminally ill and be expected to die within six months.
• Have mental capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Have been resident in England and Wales for 12 months or more.
• Registered with a GP.
• Two doctors will assess the person to see if they are eligible.
• There will also be an independent advocate.
• GPs will not have to take part in assessments if they do not wish to.

Opposition to legalised assisted dying

Opponents to the Bill include former prime minister Theresa May as she fears people in England and Wales with disabilities, chronic illnesses or mental health conditions could feel pressured to end their lives. She said “There is a risk that legalising assisted dying reinforces the dangerous notion that some lives are less worth living than others. I have a friend who calls it ‘the licence to kill bill’.”

Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, a former government’s chief nursing officer, said: “If passed, this bill will signal that we are a society that believes that some lives are not worth living. It is the role of this house to scrutinise, but there are no amendments to this bill that can safeguard us completely from its negative effects.”

Supporters of legalised assisted dying

Supporters of the Bill include Richy Thompson, director of Public Affairs at Humanists UK. He said: “What is crystal clear is that the status quo is unworkable; it leads to unnecessary suffering, painful suicides, and people fleeing their own country to take control of their deaths.”

Labour peer Lord Falconer, who is a long-term supporter of legalisation and sponsoring the bill in the Lords, told fellow peers: “The current law is confused, causes terrible suffering, and lacks compassion and safeguards.”

How could it potentially affect care homes in the UK?

• Right to opt out: The Bill does not stipulate whether care homes will have the option to opt out.
• Financial implications: Care homes will have extra costs to implement the bill, such as staff training. They could also face possible reduced profits as a person opting for assisted dying will no longer need long-term care after their assisted death. 
• Ethical and religious concerns: Religious hospices and care homes may face difficulties balancing their beliefs with the new law.
• Impact on end-of-life care: It could change end of life care as we know it.
• Staffing and training: Staff would need new training and support to handle the process.
• Protection for vulnerable residents: There are concerns about how the bill will protect vulnerable people.
• Holistic care: Some argue that assisted dying should be a separate service from general end-of-life and palliative care.

What has been the impact on care homes in Tasmania?

Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation has been in place in Tasmania since October 2022, under the End of Life Choices Act 2021.

Glen Williams, chief clinical officer for OneCare, a not-for-profit residential, home care and independent living service in Tasmania, spoke to carehome.co.uk, about how the legislation there has affected care homes.

He said: “At OneCare, we believe supporting people with choice matters. It is not only about how our residents live but also how our residents die.

“We have been providing aged care for more than 40 years, supporting more than 2,000 people across the state.

“Supporting how people wish to live and die is about providing dignity, respect, compassion, integrity and choice.”

How do Tasmanians qualify for legal assisted dying?

• People have to be 18 years or older
• Have full decision-making capacity
• Be diagnosed with a terminal illness expected to cause death within six months
• Or within twelve months for a neurodegenerative disorder.
• The process involves official requests, medical assessments, and safeguards to ensure the decision is voluntary, informed, and free from coercion.

Guidelines for care homes in Tasmania

There are certain guidelines  in place in care homes in Tasmania governing Voluntary Assisted Dying.

Under End-of-Life Choices Act 2021 (VAD), care workers and health professionals cannot initiate discussions about VAD.

That conversation must always begin with the individual.

“If raised with OneCare staff, we connect the resident with their medical practitioner and the Tasmania Voluntary Assisted Dying Navigation Service. This ensures the individual is supported with the right network, information, emotional support, and clinical coordination they need,” says Glen Williams.

He adds: “It’s worth remembering that the choice to pursue VAD rarely comes easily. It often follows months or years of illness, discomfort, and emotional reflection.

“The decision is deeply personal. Our responsibility is to walk beside the individual and continue in the provision care and support.”

How does it affect care home residents in Tasmania?

OneCare recognises that for some residents, VAD is a very personal and private. For others they wish to share and enable staff to spend time in saying their final goodbyes.

OneCare empowers residents to find this meaning. Whether it’s sharing a meal with family, supporting family pet visits, or holding a living wake. These are not small gestures. They are part of recognising the individual in life and in death.

For the resident who is undertaking VAD, OneCare’s focuses on ensuring their final days are filled with meaning and what is important to them.

How does it affect care home staff in Tasmania?

Glen Williams says: “For OneCare, supporting residents through this process is about respect, supporting choice, and understanding that residents have the right to live and die in their own home with dignity. 

“Our residential environments are our consumers’ home and as a provider we have the obligation to support our residents exercise choice, make decisions, and have equitable access to impeccable palliative and end-of-life care.”

He believes that although many people find conversations about death to be uncomfortable, as they challenge our values, beliefs, and fears, care staff are used to “supporting residents through their end-of-life trajectory and supporting their families through their loved one’s death and bereavement is part of what we do.

“For OneCare, the introduction of VAD in Tasmania didn’t change that and further supports the residents’ rights to dignity, autonomy, and compassion at the end of life.”

In Tasmania care home staff are allowed to opt out

“At OneCare, we also acknowledge that our staff are part of the VAD journey. When a resident chooses VAD, it can stir complex emotions.

“We understand and respect that not everyone feels comfortable participating or may have conscientious objection to VAD.

“OneCare supports our staff through our Employee Assistance Program. This ensures that clinical leads who are trained and comfortable in this area are available. This allows other staff to step back with dignity and respect,” says Mr Williams.

He adds: “As a clinical leader, since the introduction of VAD to our services, I often reflect on what VAD has taught us about care. It demands courage from the individual undertaking VAD, from their families, and from staff that support them.

“It requires clarity in communication, boundaries, and process. And above all, it calls for compassion, recognising the dignity, respect and choice of the individual.

“At OneCare, we see VAD as part of the many aspects of palliative and end-of-life care.  Not a replacement, but an extension of choice within it, to reduce suffering and to recognise the individual.”

What do UK medical organisations think of assisted dying?

The British Medical Association dropped its official opposition to assisted dying in favour of neutrality in 2021. The Royal College of Physicians, Royal Society of Medicine, Royal College of Nursing, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Royal College of Surgeons and Royal College of Anaesthetists have also adopted a neutral stance.

What countries offer legalised assisted dying?

Assisted dying for mentally competent, terminally ill adults is legal in all Australian states, the Australian Capital Territory, New Zealand, and ten US states plus Washington, D.C.

Broader legislation exists in countries such as Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia.