“Playing God: An Investigation into Medical Democide in the UK” is a documentary film that explores allegations of harmful medical practices and policies in the U.K. health care system.
Directed by Ash Mahmood and Naeem Mahmood, and co-produced by Phil Graham and investigative journalist Jacqui Deevoy, the film critically examines the unethical and potentially deadly use of medical protocols and medications in the National Health Service (NHS), suggesting they have led to patient harm and deaths under the guise of government policies.
The documentary features testimonials from families affected by these dangerous practices, as well as analyses from medical professionals and legal experts, aiming to shed light on “medical democide,” — death or harm caused by government policies or health care practices. The film suggests that systemic issues deeply ingrained in the NHS hinder the delivery of humane care, from birth to the end of life.
NHS Has Become a ‘Killing Machine’
“In the last 30 years,” says Kevin Corbett, Ph.D., in the film, “you can see good evidence that the National Health Service has become the killing machine.”1 He explains:2
“Toward the end of the 1980s, in medical, nursing and health care practice, the development of evidence-based medicine was seen as very positive. And evidence-based medicine sounded really good, because the idea was doctors, nurses and health care practitioners are not basing their clinical practice on much evidence or the best evidence or any evidence.
So, hey, let’s make some evidence, let’s look at what really works and apply it. It sounds so believable and so benign.
And, hey, presto, by the 1990s, doctors, nurses and all health care professionals practice was being geared by protocols and shaped by protocols. And once those protocols were instituted, it became very difficult for doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to use their own clinical acumen with patients.
The had to follow protocols, and in those protocols you’ve seen the administration of drugs like midazolam in dosages that are potentially lethal.”
Nurse Elena Vlaica details how her husband, Stuart, was “euthanized in hospital in November 2021” after going in for shortness of breath and a possible chest infection. She believes he was punished for not receiving a COVID-19 shot and put on an end-of-life care pathway that led to his death, instead of being provided with proper medical care.
In addition to withdrawing his blood pressure medications and antidepressants, Stuart was denied food or water for 11 days.3 Vlaica told Magzter:4
“I found out later, he’d had a DNR [do not resuscitate order] put on him. The reason given for that in his notes, which I managed to get with the help of a solicitor, was that he possibly had COVID and was unvaccinated. He’d also been put on midazolam and morphine without either of our consent.
I only discovered this later, when I saw his notes, and also found out that he’d been put on ‘fast-track end of life care,’ which was introduced at the start of the pandemic and allowed a consultant to decide whether a patient lives or dies.”
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, Vlaica wasn’t allowed to visit and didn’t know Stuart was put on the end-of-life care pathway. She later learned that he had tried to escape from the hospital four times, put medics pinned him down and sedated him using midazolam, a sedative drug often used in the U.S. for execution via lethal injection.5 Because it doesn’t relieve pain, an opioid such as morphine is usually added in. Deevoy wrote:6
“The day of Stuart’s death is the stuff of horror movies. On November 6, 2021 at 1 p.m., Elena had a call from the hospital to let her know that her Stuart was dying. When she arrived, Elena could see he was heavily sedated. ‘He looked like he was in a coma. I know now he was in a midazolam coma. I was kissing him and I could see his saturation levels improving.
He knew I was there and I knew he was fighting for his life. When the junior doctor saw me looking at the monitor, she switched it off. At that moment a nurse appeared with five 10ml syringes on a blue tray. She pushed two of them into Stuart’s canula, he took three breaths, then died in my arms. I shouted, ‘She’s killed him!’ then broke down. I don’t remember getting home that night.’”
Man Who Died From COVID-19 Shot Was Told He Had a Migraine
Another tragic story from the documentary is told by Vikki Spit, whose partner Zion died from a brain bleed caused by the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot. His symptoms — an excruciating headache — started just eight days after he received the shot. After calling paramedics and being told Zion had a migraine, his condition worsened.
Spit called paramedics again two days later when Zion couldn’t get out of bed and began slurring his speech. He suffered a seizure and, at the hospital, was found to have a brain injury caused by a hemorrhage due to the COVID-19 shot.
“The neurosurgeon rang me and said they’d had to remove a massive piece of skull because the pressure on his brain was enormous,” Spit said. “They said they’d never seen anything like it — they didn’t expect him to wake up, and if he did he’d be in a vegetative state. And they said they thought it was caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine … If they had recognized what it was when I called them the first time, he would still be alive.”7
Medical Mistakes, Coverups Resulted in Avoidable Deaths
Other stories, including from Anne and Graeme Dixon, recount serious medical mistakes and coverups by NHS staff, including the death of Elizabeth Dixon at just 11 months old. In addition to misdiagnosing and managing Elizabeth’s high blood pressure, which led to permanent brain damage, she died from asphyxiation after her tracheostomy tube wasn’t cleared properly.8 Speaking to The Independent, Anne Dixon said:9
“Along our 19-year journey to find the truth, we have been failed by every agency possible. We have had to spend many years working tirelessly ourselves to gather and piece together the evidence of what happened to Lizzie and the 19-year cover-up that ensued. It is inconceivable to us that not one of these earlier agencies knew, or suspected, the truth. The evidence was there. We have been treated appallingly.”
Another mother, Joan Bye, whose daughter Helenor died after being treated for misdiagnosed epilepsy, stated, “She suffered much, she died needlessly, she could have been saved, but she was murdered by the state.”10
The Liverpool Care Pathway Is a ‘Pathway to Euthanasia’
Anna De Buisseret, a UK lawyer who used to work for Pfizer as an external management consultant, said, “The moment they go into hospital they’re being put on to these hospital protocols, which dictate which drugs, which treatment, they’re going to receive. And it’s a one-size-fits-all blanket policy.”11
It’s also a pathway to euthanasia for many. Deevoy previously ousted the scandal in another documentary film, “A Good Death? The Midazolam Murders.” She realized something was wrong when a DNR was put on her dad while he was in a care home.
“So, I spoke to a whistleblower doctor,” Deevoy said. “She told me they were being put on people who were over 60 — they were classed as elderly. She told me they were being put on people with mental health issues, people with physical disabilities, even on children with autism.”12
Continuing a death protocol put in place by the Liverpool Care Pathway, victims’ families allege the NHS is responsible for the involuntary euthanasia of up to 457 people per day, without the consent of patients or their caregivers — deaths often attributed to COVID pneumonia.13
The Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP) was a government protocol used in England and Wales to “improve end-of-life care.”14 Developed in the 1990s, the protocol was meant to provide best practice guidelines during a patient’s final days, and included guidance on symptom control, discontinuation of treatments and psychological, social and spiritual care.15
What occurred instead was a “pathway to euthanasia,” during which patients were drugged and deprived of food, water and medical treatments, even in cases when recovery may have been possible. The LCP was abolished in 2014, following public uproar and a government-commissioned review, which criticized its practices.16
End-of-Life Pathway ‘Has to Stop’
Even after LCP was abolished, however, reports continued from families who said their loved ones were put on the pathway and died as a result.17 Father Patrick Pullicino, retired neurologist and Catholic priest, states in “Playing God,” “We need patients to be able to face death in a natural way and not in a manufactured way.” Regarding the end-of-life pathway, Pullicino says:18
“It’s undermining medical ethics, because you have doctors who subscribe to the Hippocratic Oath and who would in no way voluntarily kill somebody, allowing these pathways to be used on their patients because they are ‘end of life.’ They used to audit the pathway very carefully, and they found that the average time to death from the time starting the pathway to the time the person died was about 39 hours. It really has to stop.”
The film gives a voice to the victims and their families, Deevoy says, but, ultimately, she hopes it will serve as a wake-up call to prompt change:19
“’Playing God’ serves as a wake-up call, urging society to stand against medical democide. It aims to raise awareness, encourage dialogue and demand accountability from those responsible … the film strives to create a lasting impact and initiate positive change within the U.K. healthcare system.”