Dr. Peter Allcroft:

I am talking from South Australia and the land of the Kaurna people, who I acknowledge are the traditional owners. I have been involved in caring for patients with palliative care needs for over 20 years. I co-founded the motor neurone disease clinic in South Australia in 2002 and have been involved with VADANZ as a member of the inaugural steering committee. I, like Dr. McLaren, have always advocated for person-centred care and when the legislation was passed in South Australia in June 2021, I became strongly involved to ensure the safe implementation and the planning that was required for such complex care for our patients but also for our healthcare professionals.

I have been involved with co-ordinating and consulting for patients requesting access to voluntary assisted dying since its commencement in January 2023 in South Australia. In those 12 months, I have been involved with 36 patients. These patients have lived in their own home, they have been in the acute care hospital setting, the local hospice where I work and, equally, they have been in our rural and remote regional towns.

I have always endeavoured to provide a holistic approach with a dual focus on their palliative care needs and the request for the consideration of voluntary assisted dying. Just this week, a patient who is in our hospice and is having palliative care has asked for assessment for voluntary assisted dying. After that assessment, he actually reported he had the best night's sleep he had had for several months, secure in the knowledge that there were other options available for him if it all becomes too overwhelming, with his loss of dignity, independence, enjoyment and his loss of ability to engage in activities that he previously enjoyed and was excellent at. He also fears symptoms of breathlessness progressing with his cancer.

I see voluntary assisted dying as a continuum of care, with the VAD process encompassing a small but important aspect of a patient's end-of-life journey. Most of the patients who I have dealt with have an underlying malignancy. Many have had motor neurone disease. A number have had advanced lung disease, airways disease or pulmonary fibrosis. All of them are equally deserving of consideration for combined palliative care and voluntary assisted dying if they so request.

I thank the committee for the invitation to participate in this session.