❓ Hon Martin Aldridge questions the Minister for Health regarding voluntary assisted dying (VAD) practitioner training, particularly concerning low registration rates in regional areas. The Minister provides registration numbers and outlines plans to encourage uptake and support regional access.
AnsweredQoN 377Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING — PRACTITIONER TRAINING
377. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I
refer to Legislative Council question without notice 270, which I asked on 15
June, regarding the voluntary assisted dying scheme, due to commence on
1 July this year.
(1) By region,
how many medical practitioners have registered to participate in training to
date?
(2) By region,
how many medical practitioners have completed the mandatory training to date?
(3) Given the
minister's response last week indicated that several regions had zero
medical practitioners registered for training, will the state government
develop a plan to encourage practitioner uptake in these regions to ensure
reasonable access?
(4) Noting the
government's commitment for practitioners to travel to patients where
no practitioner is based locally through the regional access support scheme,
where will these practitioners be sourced from and will the minister guarantee
access occurs in a timely manner?
377. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I
refer to Legislative Council question without notice 270, which I asked on 15
June, regarding the voluntary assisted dying scheme, due to commence on
1 July this year.
(1) By region,
how many medical practitioners have registered to participate in training to
date?
(2) By region,
how many medical practitioners have completed the mandatory training to date?
(3) Given the
minister's response last week indicated that several regions had zero
medical practitioners registered for training, will the state government
develop a plan to encourage practitioner uptake in these regions to ensure
reasonable access?
(4) Noting the
government's commitment for practitioners to travel to patients where
no practitioner is based locally through the regional access support scheme,
where will these practitioners be sourced from and will the minister guarantee
access occurs in a timely manner?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1) To date, the
following number of medical practitioners have registered for access —
(a) in the
metropolitan area, 50;
(b) in the Peel
region, five;
(c) in the great
southern, 10;
(d) in the
midwest, one;
(e) in the
Pilbara, one;
(f) in the south
west, six;
(g) in the
wheatbelt, two;
(h) the total
number of medical practitioners who have registered is 75. I also note that
three nurse practitioners have registered—two in the metro region and
one in the midwest; and
(j) the total
number of practitioners is 78.
(2) The following
number of medical practitioners have completed the mandatory training to date —
(a) in the metro area, one;
(b) the total number of medical
practitioners is one.
(3) The
Department of Health continues to closely monitor registrations for access to Western
Australian voluntary assisted dying approved training. The number of
practitioners who are registering to access the training continues to increase
and the Department of Health has received 78 applications to date. The
Department of Health is actioning plans to ensure that practitioners are aware
of the commencement of the legislation and that they are able to register to
complete the training. It is the decision of individual practitioners whether
they choose to participate in voluntary assisted dying.
(4) The WA
voluntary assisted dying statewide care navigator service will support linkage
of patients to practitioners. Individual practitioners will decide whether they
consent to make their details known to the SWCNS and, further to that, whether
they will provide a service to an individual patient. The government is able to
support access via the regional access support scheme. The regional access
support scheme has been designed to address concerns regarding access in
regional areas.
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1) To date, the
following number of medical practitioners have registered for access —
(a) in the
metropolitan area, 50;
(b) in the Peel
region, five;
(c) in the great
southern, 10;
(d) in the
midwest, one;
(e) in the
Pilbara, one;
(f) in the south
west, six;
(g) in the
wheatbelt, two;
(h) the total
number of medical practitioners who have registered is 75. I also note that
three nurse practitioners have registered—two in the metro region and
one in the midwest; and
(j) the total
number of practitioners is 78.
(2) The following
number of medical practitioners have completed the mandatory training to date —
(a) in the metro area, one;
(b) the total number of medical
practitioners is one.
(3) The
Department of Health continues to closely monitor registrations for access to Western
Australian voluntary assisted dying approved training. The number of
practitioners who are registering to access the training continues to increase
and the Department of Health has received 78 applications to date. The
Department of Health is actioning plans to ensure that practitioners are aware
of the commencement of the legislation and that they are able to register to
complete the training. It is the decision of individual practitioners whether
they choose to participate in voluntary assisted dying.
(4) The WA
voluntary assisted dying statewide care navigator service will support linkage
of patients to practitioners. Individual practitioners will decide whether they
consent to make their details known to the SWCNS and, further to that, whether
they will provide a service to an individual patient. The government is able to
support access via the regional access support scheme. The regional access
support scheme has been designed to address concerns regarding access in
regional areas.
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