Palliative Care Australia Media Release

A survey of the palliative care workforce has highlighted the growing intersection with Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) and some of the issues health professionals and the people and families in their care are facing.

Findings from the national survey conducted earlier this year by Palliative Care Australia (PCA) will be presented at the Trans-Tasman Voluntary Assisted Dying Conference (VADCON) in Brisbane today and tomorrow (28 and 29 October).

PCA National Policy Director, Josh Fear says close to 900 health professionals working in specialist palliative care and primary care shared their insights and experiences with VAD.

“What we have heard from the sector is that the introduction of VAD in every state has led to an increase in conversations about end-of-life choices,” Mr Fear says.

“That’s important because people choosing VAD should also have access to quality palliative care – it shouldn’t be one or the other.

“Encouragingly, the great majority of palliative care workers say they are comfortable providing information, support and care for someone accessing VAD,” Mr Fear says.

“However, the findings I’ll share at VADCON also point to some challenges that warrant more attention, especially by providers who have a responsibility to facilitate patient choice.”

Key survey findings include:

• It can be difficult for patients and carers to navigate the VAD system, with only 24% of those working in primary care, and 43% of those working in specialist palliative care, agreeing that the VAD system is easy to navigate. This could in turn reflect lower levels of awareness of existing VAD navigation teams.
• Just 6% of respondents in primary care feel that their work with VAD is appropriately compensated, while 46% disagreed.
• 18% of respondents say that the introduction of VAD has resulted in an increased demand for palliative care.
• Only 57% of health staff working in private or nonprofit health services feel supported by their employer in facilitating VAD as a choice of patients – much lower than those working in public health settings (73%).

“Overwhelmingly the survey points to the fact that those who deliver palliative care recognise and respect VAD as a valid end-of-life choice,” Mr Fear says.

Further survey findings will be shared at VADCON, co-hosted by Go Gentle Australia and VADANZ. Go Gentle Australia CEO Dr Linda Swan, says the PCA survey findings point to how palliative care and voluntary assisted dying services can – and do – work hand in hand.

“Our own State of VAD report shows that 80% of people choosing VAD are also receiving palliative care,” Dr Swan says.

“The PCA survey shows a similar result and builds on the body of evidence that the introduction of VAD has not lessened the demand for palliative care – in fact it may be increasing it.

“We support the close collaboration of both services, with the aim of making the path from one to the other less disjointed and easier for terminally ill people.”

A full written report from PCA’s 2024 national workforce survey will be released in the near future, subscribe to PCA’s fortnightly eNewsletter to stay up to date.