On Wednesday 18 October 2023, Dying with Dignity NSW hosted a very informative webinar entitled - Understanding the Option of Voluntary Assisted Dying.
We were delighted to have four incredible guest speakers including two Victorian VAD clinicians, a Victorian Care Navigator and the NSW Clinical Lead for the implementation of VAD.
You can watch the full webinar below.
Just six weeks out from the commencement of the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying law, Wednesday 18th October seemed like the perfect time to bring together interstate and local experts to explain how people in NSW will be able to access this compassionate, end-of-life option from 28 November.
‘Understanding the Option of Voluntary Assisted Dying’ was the fourth, free webinar in our series on end-of-life issues.
Guest Speakers
Dr Cam McLaren is a medical oncologist and voluntary assisted dying (VAD) care provider from Victoria, Australia. He is one of the clinical moderators of the Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying Community of Practice, and the Founder of Voluntary Assisted Dying Australia and New Zealand (VADANZ).
Cam has worked with clinicians, researchers, and legislators since 2019 towards improving the quality and safety of VAD care provision across Australia and New Zealand.
Dr Greg Mewett MBBS FAChPM was a GP in Bendigo for 22 years where he developed a special interest in palliative care (PC). He left general practice in 2004 and retrained as a palliative care physician. After almost 15 years working as a PC physician at Ballarat Health Services and the Grampians Regional Palliative Care Team, Greg resigned in early January 2023 and is now doing intermittent palliative care specialist locum work throughout Australia.
Greg developed a special interest in clinical ethics particularly as related to end-of-life care and decision-making and was a member of the VAD Implementation Taskforce. He is a ‘conscientious provider’ of VAD which he incorporates into his specialist palliative care practice.
Nicky Stitts is a Victorian Statewide Voluntary Assisted Dying Care Navigator. She has over 30 years’ experience as a Registered Nurse both in Australia and the UK supporting patients and their carers through end of life and life limiting situations.
Nicky has experience in Intensive Care, Organ Donation, Palliative Care, Neuro-Palliative Care and has been a Nurse consultant with the Care Navigator team for nearly two years. She is passionate about providing choice around end-of-life care options and to advocate for the best possible holistic care for her patients. She has a strong commitment to ensure people are treated with respect, dignity and equality.
Dr Wade Stedman is the Clinical Lead for the implementation of voluntary assisted dying in NSW, including development of clinical guidance, education and training and clinical pathways.
Wade is also a staff specialist in intensive care medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital, provides simulation education, and has a particular interest in long term psychological outcomes of patients who survive a severe critical illness.