Jersey’s assisted-dying service is due to come into place in spring or summer 2027, but the issue has been under renewed scrutiny following developments in the Isle of Man.

A similar law approved by Tynwald was recently blocked from receiving Royal Assent by the UK government, after ministers concluded that key safeguards – including protections against coercion and checks on mental capacity – were not sufficiently written into the legislation itself.

The intervention by the UK Ministry of Justice has raised questions about how Jersey’s own law will fare as it goes through the same process.

However, Jersey’s government and local campaigners insisted the island’s legislation differs significantly, with safeguards explicitly built into the law rather than left to guidance.

As officials prepare for the island’s first assisted deaths, Express took a closer look at where they will take place.

The eligibility criteria

A document from Health Minister Tom Binet helpfully lays out the location options for those choosing assisted dying.

Under the legislation, those choosing assisted dying will have to be adults, terminally ill with six or 12 months left to live, depending on the condition, have clear mental capacity, be assessed by two doctors, and have lived in Jersey for at least a year.

Patients can withdraw from the process at any time.

The numbers

Drawing on evidence from jurisdictions where assisted dying is already legal, officials estimate there could be around 14 assisted deaths per year in Jersey.

The service is expected to require just over three full-time equivalent staff, spread across a range of roles:

  • Care navigator (1.0 full-time equivalent)
  • Administrative support (1.0 full-time equivalent combined)
  • Assessing doctor (0.5 full-time equivalent)
  • Administering practitioner (0.1 full-time equivalent)
  • Pharmacy professional (0.05 full-time equivalent)
  • Extended team (0.4 full-time equivalent)
  • Certifying doctor (0.03 full-time equivalent)

Demand could vary from year to year.

The Assisted Dying Service

The Assisted Dying Scrutiny Panel has said the service’s headquarters “must not” be based at the Hospital.

Instead, it is expected to operate from an administrative base used for coordination and planning. It remains unclear whether patients would need to attend in person.

Officials suggest an off-site location could help protect patient privacy.

At home

Most assisted deaths are expected to take place in “other places” outside the Hospital, typically in patients’ homes.

However, each case will be assessed to ensure the setting is “safe or appropriate”.

In the Hospital

The Hospital – including the future facility planned for completion in 2028 – will be able to host assisted deaths, but only as a “last resort”.

Reasoning that assisted dying is a public service, and the Health Department “should not deny the public access to those services”, the report said the Hospital would provide assisted dying to those who can’t receive it at home or at their care home.

Around 30% of cases (approximately four per year) are expected to take place there.

Private rooms are expected to be used, but having designated rooms for assisted dying might make it “inappropriate” if they were used for other purposes, the report said.

It also noted that this might make things difficult if there are several patients using the service around the same time.

In the new hospital building – expected to be finished in 2028 – three-quarters of patients will be in single rooms anyway, the report added.

At private care homes

Privately run care homes will have a “right to refuse”. If a provider does not permit assisted dying on-site, patients must still be allowed to undergo assessments and planning meetings there.

“To do otherwise may deny them access to the service,” the report said.

Discussions between administering practitioners and care-home managers will determine whether arrangements can be made.

At government-run care homes

Government-run care homes do not have the same right to refuse, as they fall under the Health Department.

However, individual facilities must still be deemed suitable. Concerns such as room size or potential disruption from other residents could rule out their use.

Individual staff members retain the right to opt out.

What about Hospice?

Jersey Hospice has largely distanced itself from assisted dying.

Former chief executive Mike Palfreman previously said the practice “goes against the whole ethos of Hospice, the hospice movement and hospice care”.

While hospice patients may choose assisted dying, it is not expected to take place within hospice settings.

Current chief executive Rachel Street has said the organisation will support patients, while continuing to assess what the law means in practice.

The debate in Jersey, she added, had been a “model” for jurisdictions introducing assisted dying to also consider high-quality palliative care.

The bigger picture

The contrast with the Isle of Man highlights the importance of how assisted-dying laws are drafted.

While the Manx legislation stalled due to safeguards not being explicitly included, Jersey’s government maintains that its own law has been designed from the outset to meet human-rights requirements.

Whether that approach will satisfy UK ministers during the Royal Assent process remains to be seen.