Canada delays plan to offer medical assistance in dying to mentally ill people

A parliamentary panel has concluded that there are not enough doctors, particularly psychiatrists, in the country to properly assess patients. /p>

Canada is postponing a plan to offer people suffering from mental illnesses the option of medical assistance in dying, two ministers said Monday.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The announcement by Mark Holland, the health minister, and Arif Virani, the justice minister, came after a special parliamentary committee examining the plan concluded that there were not enough doctors, particularly psychiatrists, in the country to evaluate mentally ill patients who wish to terminate their stay. lives and help them do it.

“The system has to be ready, and we have to do it right,” Holland told reporters. “It’s clear from the conversations we’ve had that the system is not ready and we need more time. »

None of the ministers proposed a timetable for the latest extension. After an earlier delay, the expansion was set to take effect on March 17.

Canada already offers medical assistance in dying to terminally and chronically ill people, but The plan to expand the program to people with mental illness has divided Canadians.

Some critics say the plan is a consequence of the incapacity of the public health system of Canada to provide adequate psychiatric care, which is chronically underfunded and facing demand that exceeds its availability.

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