❓ Hon Nick Goiran questions the availability of palliative care to patients accessing Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in WA, specifically those not receiving it at the time of their first assessment. The response indicates the VAD Board does not track subsequent palliative care provision.
AnsweredQoN 1148Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to pages 5 and 21 of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board Western Australia – Annual Report 2021-22 , that state of
those people requesting access to voluntary assisted dying in the reporting
period, 14.7% were not receiving palliative care. This equates to 52 patients in Western
Australia who were not receiving palliative care at the time of their First
Assessment. Of those 52 patients, 43 had
not received any palliative care within the last 12 months prior to their First
Assessment, and I ask: (a) given that voluntary assisted dying is about
a person who knows they will die soon and is suffering in a way that cannot be
relieved in a manner that the person considers tolerable (p3) and given that
these 52 patients still had to progress through the necessarily rigorous
stages of assessment’ which is a complex process (p3) that can take some
time, was palliative care made available to these patients to address any
physical or other symptoms causing suffering to the patients that could be
addressed during the stages of voluntary assisted dying assessment; and (b) if palliative care was not made available to
these patients, why was it not made available to them?
those people requesting access to voluntary assisted dying in the reporting
period, 14.7% were not receiving palliative care. This equates to 52 patients in Western
Australia who were not receiving palliative care at the time of their First
Assessment. Of those 52 patients, 43 had
not received any palliative care within the last 12 months prior to their First
Assessment, and I ask: (a) given that voluntary assisted dying is about
a person who knows they will die soon and is suffering in a way that cannot be
relieved in a manner that the person considers tolerable (p3) and given that
these 52 patients still had to progress through the necessarily rigorous
stages of assessment’ which is a complex process (p3) that can take some
time, was palliative care made available to these patients to address any
physical or other symptoms causing suffering to the patients that could be
addressed during the stages of voluntary assisted dying assessment; and (b) if palliative care was not made available to
these patients, why was it not made available to them?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 February 2023
Responded by
Leader of the House representing the Minister for Health
Response time
1 days
(a) – (b) The voluntary assisted dying process does not require practitioners to notify the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board whether palliative care was subsequently made available to patients who reported that they were not receiving palliative care at the point of First Assessment.
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