Message from the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board Chair
At the conclusion of 2024, we farewelled Board Member, Dr Rob Edis after 3.5 years on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board. The Board thanks Dr Edis for his contribution to voluntary assisted dying in WA and to the functions of this Board and wishes him well for his future retirement.
We welcome new board member, Dr Gareth Wahl, appointed from 1 January 2025, and look forward to Dr Wahl's contributions, drawing on his experience in roles as End-of-Life Care Clinical Lead for WA Department of Health and North Metropolitan Health Service, and as a VAD practitioner since 2021.
The Board is currently planning our next regional engagement in the Southwest from 25 - 26 February, including site visits to local health facilities and community and practitioner engagement sessions. Please feel free to share the details below for the engagement sessions with your networks who might be interested in learning more about voluntary assisted dying.
Health Care Professional Information Session
Wednesday 26th February, 5:30pm Geographe Room, The Mantra, Bunbury
As always, the Board would like to express their gratitude for the time and effort of all practitioners and we encourage you to reach out and share your experiences with us. You can do this through the submission of a personal reflection (that can be found here) or by emailing the VAD Board Secretariat Unit (VADBoard@health.wa.gov.au)
Dr Scott Blackwell Chair - Voluntary Assisted Dying Board
Declaration of Life Extinct Form
Nurse practitioners can now access and download the Department of Health’s Declaration of Life Extinct Forms directly from the Resource Hub on VAD-IMS.
Medical staff, funeral directors, mortuary staff, and police are authorised to accept a Life Extinct Form as a temporary substitute for a ‘Death Certificate’ when a medical practitioner is not immediately present.
From a practical perspective in relation to VAD, the Life Extinct Form can facilitate the movement of a deceased person to a mortuary, holding room, or funeral home, minimising delays that can cause distress to the family members of the deceased.
Statewide Pharmacy Service on-call service
Voluntary Assisted Dying Statewide Pharmacy Service (SWPS) are now offering an on-call service.
Phone: 6383 3088
Please call for information regarding VAD administration, VAD substance destruction information or to organise supply.
Weekdays
Weekend/Public Holidays
Opening hours
8:30am - 5:00pm
CLOSED
On-call phone support
5:00pm - 8:00pm
8:00am - 8:00pm
Face to face education regarding VAD substances is available by the SWPS, please contact on the above number to organise.
Recording Diagnoses on Assessment Forms
The First and Consulting Assessment Forms in VAD-IMS include a field for practitioners to indicate the patient's primary and secondary diagnoses. The primary diagnosis field contains a drop-down list with conditions sourced from SNOMED and should be used for the condition that satisfies the eligibility criteria for voluntary assisted dying, i.e. is the
The SNOMED list of diagnoses expresses conditions in various ways (eg Cancer, CA, neoplasm) so it may be helpful to use a variety of search terms if you are having trouble finding an appropriate diagnosis on the list. Please note that not all conditions on the SNOMED list will satisfy the eligibility criteria for voluntary assisted dying.
Practitioners are welcome to include other diagnoses and information in the secondary diagnosis and additional commentary fields.
Practitioner VAD Training
The following sessions are available for practitioners and health professionals who are interested in learning more about voluntary assisted dying or completing the training. Please feel free to share with your networks.
Face To Face Training:
The VAD Statewide Care Navigators are hosting an in-person training workshop for medical and nurse practitioners interested in completing VAD Approved Training on 14 February at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The workshop setting has been designed to facilitate those who prefer to engage with learning in a group setting. The free and catered workshop runs from 8.30am to 4.30pm.
‘Exploring voluntary assisted dying in practice’
The Care Navigator team has also announced it will host an ‘Exploring voluntary assisted dying in practice’ event on 07 March for all health professionals interested in learning more about VAD. The event, which can be attended in-person or virtually, will provide shared learnings, valuable insights and updates following the third anniversary of VAD as a legal option in WA.
The Board receives Personal Reflections throughout the year from people who have been touched by the voluntary assisted dying process, including patients, family members, friends, practitioners and service providers. While many of those reflections are positive and express gratitude for the end of life choices available to West Australians and for the compassionate and sensitive work of our VAD providers, the reflections also provide the Board with valuable insight into the barriers and problems that might be experienced by patients and families in accessing VAD.
These reflections help the Board to identify common themes, understand what is working well and identify areas for improvement, which can be used to raise issues with relevant parties, including the Minister for Health and the WA Health Director General, and inform the recommendations made by the Board in its Annual Report each year.
The Board welcomes the submission of personal reflections from your patients, their friends and families and yourselves to assist us in monitoring the operation of voluntary assisted dying in WA. The Personal Reflection form can be found here and can be emailed to the VAD Board Secretariat Unit (VADBoard@health.wa.gov.au).
VAD-IMS reminders
The Secretariat Unit continues to monitor and support practitioners with submitting the required notifications to the Board through VAD-IMS. Some common issues to look out for include:
Please ensure Contact Person Appointment Forms include full contact details for the person, including phone number and email as the Board is required to send information to the contact person following their appointment and the Secretariat Unit may need to contact them to discuss their obligations.
The Secretariat Unit will be sending out reminder emails to Practitioners where a Practitioner Administration Form has been submitted to VAD-IMS, but no Administering Practitioner Disposal Form has been received to request submission or the disposal form in VAD-IMS or confirmation that no prescribed substances were remaining for disposal following administration.
Archives of previous editions
Previous editions of the Quality Practice Series can be downloaded from the Resource Hub in VAD-IMS.
This document can be made available in alternative formats on request for a person with disability.
Copyright to this material is vested in the State of Western Australia unless otherwise indicated. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced or re-used for any purposes whatsoever without written permission of the State of Western Australia
