Biography
Dr Simon Opher has engaged extensively on end-of-life care and palliative care, delivering multiple speeches during the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill debate in September 2026, drawing on his 34 years of clinical experience to distinguish between these complementary approaches and address concerns about vulnerable populations. He has also spoken frequently on NHS efficiency and primary care, particularly criticising administrative burdens on GPs and advocating for reduced medicalisation through social prescribing and improved health literacy, alongside contributions on emergency care capacity and mental health integration. His engagement across the 12 topics has been primarily through parliamentary speeches rather than written questions.
Generated from their own Hansard record, below
“…I have been involved in delivering palliative care and end-of-life care—they are actually quite different—for over 34 years and I continue to do so as a GP. Given the time, I will cut my speech short, but I want to say that this is really about choice.”
Record by topic
- Assisted dying8th of 371120.0
- Mental health18th of 880102.0
- Palliative & end of life care15th of 56875.0
- GP access6th of 24142.0
- Cancer28th of 62236.0
- NHS waiting lists37th of 53421.0
- Public health & prevention56th of 68821.0
- Respiratory (asthma/COPD)7th of 14218.0
- A&E & ambulance response20th of 25815.0
- Heart disease & stroke23rd of 39815.0
- Learning disability & autism253rd of 89915.0
- Maternity & neonatal68th of 43812.0
- Dementia30th of 2519.0
- Children's health17th of 1579.0
- Diabetes21st of 1909.0
- Dentistry access41st of 1949.0
- Hospital discharge / bed-blocking19th of 1396.0
- Elderly care & frailty30th of 2366.0
- NHS & care workforce/staffing118th of 3023.0
What they’ve said
“…In fact, the evidence from other jurisdictions is that these people do not go for assisted dying—it is actually a white, middle-class, able-bodied thing—so in a way we have the opposite problem to deal with.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-09-11 · Read on Hansard ↗
“No, I will carry on if that is okay. It is a great thing to offer end-of-life care and palliative care. In 2010, the UK system for palliative care was at the level of the best in the world, yet still people went to Dignitas. Still, 600 people who were suffering from terminal diagnosis killed themselves.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-09-11 · Read on Hansard ↗
“Does my hon. Friend acknowledge that, even with excellent palliative care, there are very similar rates of people demanding assisted dying? In fact, even in 2010, when we had probably the best palliative care in the world, people still went to Dignitas or took their own lives.”
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 2026-09-11 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…consulted over 50 million times every year—and those who go to Dr Google usually end up thinking that they have cancer or need an ambulance, so that is clearly driving demand. There are also doctor factors. If we carry on treating sore throats with antibiotics, people will carry on coming back.”
Health Bill · 2026-09-07 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…I will return to over-medicalisation. I would like to try to divert patients with mild to moderate mental health symptoms to social prescribing, such as access to nature, arts and culture and exercise—and indeed comedy.”
Health Bill · 2026-09-07 · Read on Hansard ↗
Contributions reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.