On Friday, April 17, the Dutch Regional Euthanasia Review Committees published their annual report about 2019 (only in Dutch yet).
Only four cases of acting not in accordance with the due care criteria
Out of a total of 6,361 reports received by the RTE in the past year, 6,357 of them reported that the doctor has acted in accordance with the due care requirements of the Euthanasia Act. However, in four of the notifications reviewed in the past year, the RTE considered that the attending physician in the application of euthanasia has not acted in accordance with the due care criteria. An anonymous version of the judgments related to these four notifications are included in the annual report. The total number of reports increased by 3.8% compared to 2018.
In two cases euthanasia was granted on the basis of a written notification euthanasia request from a patient with advanced dementia
Of the total number of people who died in the Netherlands in 2019, 4.2% died as a result of euthanasia. In 91% of those patients had cancer, nervous system disorders, cardiovascular disease, lung disease and a combination of diseases. In two of the reports received in 2019, euthanasia was granted on the basis of a written notification euthanasia request from a patient with advanced dementia. In both judgments, those in have been made anonymous in the annual report, the RTE concluded that the due care criteria were met. The time span between the receipt of the report by the RTE and the sending of the opinion is reduced from an average of 37 days in 2018 to 29 days in 2019.
There will also appear an English version on the English part of the Dutch Review Committees website (under: annual reports).
The Netherlands