Swiss company The Last Resort specialises in providing local euthanasia treatments to its patients while also being home to the Sarco death capsule.
Dr Philip Nitschke – known as ‘Dr Death’ – is responsible for creating the device which promises a painless method of suicide.
The assisted suicide method has been controversial (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)
How does the suicide pod work?
The way it works is a patient lies down in a 3D-printed capsule that contains a canister of liquid nitrogen.
The 10-minute process rapidly decreases oxygen levels in the capsule as patients fall unconscious within one minute and are dead nine minutes later.
Dr Nitschke’s warning
Nitschke has issued a stark warning to people who would like to undergo this treatment, saying: “Once the button is pressed, there is no way back.”
It sounds like common sense, but people obviously need to be sure before they use it.
Dr Philip Nitschke is known as ‘Dr Death’ (JASPER JUINEN/AFP via Getty Images)
First British couple to use the suicide pod
A couple from Suffolk – Peter, 86, and Christine Scott, 80 – are set to become the first Brits to use it.
The pair plan to travel to Switzerland following Christine’s early-stage vascular dementia diagnosis.
Former RAF pilot Peter told the Daily Mail: “We have had long, happy, healthy, fulfilled lives but here we are in old age and it does not do nice things to you.
“The idea of watching the slow degradation of Chris’s mental abilities in parallel to my own physical decline is horrific to me.
“Obviously I would care for her to the point I could not, but she has nursed enough people with dementia during her career to be adamant she wants to remain in control of herself and her life.
“Assisted dying gives her that opportunity and I would not want to go on living without her.
“We understand other people may not share our feelings and we respect their position.
A couple are signing up to become the first Brits to use a controversial double suicide pod (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)
“What we want is the right to choose. I find it deeply depressing we can’t do that here in the UK.
“Yet look at the alternative. The chances of getting prompt NHS treatment for the ailments of old age seem pretty remote so you end up trapped by infirmity and pain.
“I don’t want to go into care, to be lying in bed dribbling and incontinent – I don’t call that a life.
“Finally, the Government swoops in to take your savings and your house to pay for it all.”
Christine added: “It’s a lovely life but I have this diagnosis, and that’s crystallised our thinking.
“Medicine can slow vascular dementia but it can’t stop it. At the point I thought I was losing myself, I’d say: ‘This is it, Pete, I don’t want to go any further’.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
