Models of care for voluntary assisted dying: a qualitative study of Queensland’s approach in its first year of operation

Ben P. White; Amanda Ward; Rachel Feeney; Laura Ley Greaves; Lindy Willmott

doi:10.1071/AH24199

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Models of care for voluntary assisted dying: a qualitative study of Queensland’s approach in its first year of operation

Ben P. White ^A ^* , Amanda Ward ^A , Rachel Feeney ^A , Laura Ley Greaves ^A and Lindy Willmott ^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Business and Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: bp.white@qut.edu.au

Australian Health Review 48(6) 693-699 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH24199

Submitted: 23 July 2024 Accepted: 12 September 2024 Published: 7 October 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Objective

Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) began in Queensland in January 2023 but little is known about its practical operation. This research examined models of care for providing VAD in Queensland.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 participants involved with VAD delivery across Queensland’s 16 Health and Hospital Services (HHSs). Participants included HHS VAD Coordinators, nurse practitioners and nurses who acted as administering practitioners, and Queensland VAD Support and Pharmacy Service (QVAD SPS) staff.

Results

Five themes about Queensland VAD models of care were developed: VAD is accessed almost exclusively through the public sector via HHSs, influenced by a Health Service Directive; local models of care vary; nurses play significant roles facilitating access to and providing VAD; QVAD SPS has been instrumental supporting HHSs and ensuring statewide access as back-up VAD provider; and VAD services need more resourcing.

Conclusions

The Queensland approach to providing VAD has been largely successful in ensuring patient access across the state. However, it differs from previous Australian VAD models with access predominantly through the public sector, greater roles played by nurse practitioners/nurses, and VAD being provided by QVAD SPS. Under-resourcing and consistency in provision of VAD services remain challenges.

Keywords: euthanasia, health system funding, health systems, health workforce, implementation, models of care, physician-assisted dying, voluntary assisted dying.

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