Research contained in the report suggests that many of the patients studied chose to commit suicide rather than face more severe pain later on in their disease.
The study also finds wide variation in how verdicts of suicide are recorded by coroners and made available to the public and policymakers. Coroners told researchers they sometimes "turn a blind eye" when they suspect that a terminally ill person might have had help from a friend or relative in committing suicide.
Recommendations
The study recommends that, as part of the Government’s ongoing consultation on preventing suicide, they should consider making local suicide audits compulsory and that coroners’ duty to share information should be formalised.
Read more
Download The Truth About Suicide.