A Sudbury psychiatrist is pleased the federal government decided this week to delay medically assisted death for persons whose sole medical condition is mental illness.
Both Koka and Dr. John Haggarty jointly authored a letter last week calling for a pause in the legislation. Koka and Haggarty are the past and current Section Chairs of Psychiatry at NOSM University. Their letter spoke to concerns about improving suicide prevention initiatives, about gaps in MAiD standards and the issue of definition for irremediability .
"It could be just at that time people may feel” their only option is MAiD, Koka said, but protocols and procedures must be in place and robust to determine if a mental illness is truly intractable.
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