An open letter organised by Our Duty of Care in response to Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - the text of which still has not been published with just 18 days until second reading debate and vote - has secured more than 3,400 signatures.

Describing the letter as "the most significant intervention by the medical profession so far," Janet Eastham reports in The Telegraph that "2,038 doctors, 905 nurses, and 462 other healthcare workers have warned inadequate end-of-life care could coerce patients into choosing an assisted death. Twenty-three medical directors at hospices and NHS trusts signed the letter, as well as 53 eminent medical professors and the former Welsh chief medical officer, Dame Deirdre Hine."

You can still add your name to the letter ahead of the 29 November vote if you are a healthcare professional: ourdutyofcare.org.uk/letter-to-the-prime-minister

The letter in full

Dear Prime Minister,

We write with great concern regarding the introduction of a Bill to legalise doctor-assisted suicide. The NHS is broken, with health and social care in disarray. Palliative care is woefully underfunded and many lack access to specialist provision. The thought of assisted suicide being introduced and managed safely at such a time is remarkably out of touch with the gravity of the current mental health crisis and pressures on staff.

It is impossible for any Government to draft assisted suicide laws which include protection from coercion and from future expansion. Canada has clearly demonstrated that safeguards can be eroded in a matter of just five years; it has been roundly criticised for introducing euthanasia for those who are disabled and plans for the mentally ill have been paused because of international concern.

The shift from preserving life to taking life is enormous and should not be minimised. The prohibition of killing is present in all societies due to the immeasurable worth and inherent dignity of every human life. The prohibition of killing is the safeguard. The current law is the protection for the vulnerable.

Any change would threaten society's ability to safeguard vulnerable patients from abuse; it would undermine the trust the public places in physicians; and it would send a clear message to our frail, elderly and disabled patients about the value that society places on them as people.

Far from one person's decision affecting no one else, it affects us all. Some patients may never consider assisted suicide unless it was suggested to them. Nearly half those who choose assisted suicide in Oregon cite 'feeling a burden'.

As healthcare professionals, we have a legal duty of care for the safety and wellbeing of our patients. We, the undersigned, will never take our patients' lives - even at their request. But for the sake of us all, and for future generations, we ask do not rush into hasty legislation but instead fund excellent palliative care.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Gillian Wright (Director, Our Duty of Care, Glasgow)

Dr David Randall (Consultant Nephrologist, London)

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