Committee recruits island-voice for assisted dying

Members of the committee responsible for overseeing how assisted dying is introduced in Jersey are looking for a member of the public with end-of-life care experience to join them.

The Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law 2026 was given Royal Assent in July but due to a minimum 18-month implementation period, the Government of Jersey said it anticipated the earliest date the law would come into effect would be September 2027.​

Dr Sarah Wollaston was appointed to lead the committee supervising the implementation of Jersey's Assisted Dying Service in September.

She said the islander joining the committee would be to represent "a whole range of experiences from communities across the island".

Wollaston said the Assisted Dying Assurance and Delivery Committee was supervising how training programmes were set up, registration and ensuring the service operated safely.

She said: "The committee is primarily responsible for making sure that the service is set up and operates entirely within the law and we're aiming to have the service up and running in the early autumn next year."

Interested applicants did not need to be a qualified nurse or doctor to apply, Wollaston said, but they did need to be compassionate and understand what it was like to be on the receiving end of palliative care or have supported someone who has been through end-of-life care.

"We're anticipating it will about 15 days a year in terms of time commitment but I think it will be a really fascinating role and to be at the heart of something that is really ground breaking in the first place in the British Isles to allow assisted dying," she said.

Applications close on 22 October.

Wollaston said it was important the committee was the "voice" for patients and their families, keeping them at the heart of everything it did.

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