The first public report on voluntary assisted dying tabled in Parliament today details a smooth transition to new laws.
While it is too early to report on activity, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board report of operations 2018-19 covers the important work done to prepare doctors and the community.
Over the past year, the Board worked with the department and the Implementation Taskforce to create processes and forms that are easy-to-understand and follow for patients and doctors, but still rigorous enough to reassure the wider community.
It built and launched the Voluntary Assisted Dying Portal, a secure, confidential platform for doctors to submit all the required forms. In the first 11 days of operation, 188 medical practitioners had completed or started the training.
The Board also created new processes to assess the compliance of each case, and to ensure the return of any unused medication in the community.
Note: This report does not include any data or information on individual permits actioned in the first 11 days of the law. This is because it could identify patients, their families or doctors. For a list of data to be reported in the future, please see page 12 of the report.
