On Wednesday 17 May 2023, Dying with Dignity NSW hosted a very informative webinar entitled - Empowering the Elderly - How to Avoid the End-of-Life Conveyor Belt. 

We were delighted to have two very experiences guest speakers, Intensive Care Specialist, Professor Ken Hillman AO and Geriatrician, Associate Professor Gideon Caplan giving their thoughts on how the elderly can best navigate the medical system in their last months, weeks or days to ensure that their wishes are respected. Over 550 people participated, with many more expressing an interest in watching the recording.

You can watch the full webinar below.

Ken Hillman AO is Professor of Intensive Care at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Ken graduated from Sydney University and trained at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney and St Bartholomews Hospital in London.

He was one of the first formally trained intensive care specialists and became the Director of Intensive Care at Charing Cross Hospital in London before returning to Australia to become Director at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney.

He has over 210 peer reviewed publications; approximately 90 chapters in textbooks; co-authored an intensive care textbook; co-edited several textbooks; written two books aimed at the general public; and has acquired over $23 million in peer reviewed grants.

He has been invited to address over 130 international conferences and over 140 national conferences. Ken has held many professional positions related to health and is the Director of the Simpson Centre for Health Services Research. He has an Order of Australia and has a high public profile in the area of end of life and has given a TEDx talk at the Sydney Opera House on the subject.

Associate Professor Gideon Caplan is Director of Post Acute Care Services and Director of Geriatric Medicine at Prince of Wales Hospital and a Conjoint Associate Professor at UNSW in Sydney. He is editor of the most recent textbook of Geriatric Medicine in Australia and has researched and written about Advance Care Planning, as well as providing end of life care for many people. He has served as a consultant to Commonwealth and State Health Departments including the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council.

Associate Professor Gideon Caplan is Director of Post Acute Care Services and Director of Geriatric Medicine at Prince of Wales Hospital and a Conjoint Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is editor of the most recent textbook of Geriatric Medicine in Australia and has researched and written about Advance Care Planning, as well as providing end of life care for many people. His research also involves –

1. developing and rigorously testing new health services, he has been a chief investigator on 7 investigator-initiated Randomised Control Trials (RCT)s, and 

2. the pathophysiology of delirium, where he works with a consortium of international investigators.

He has served as a consultant to Commonwealth and State Health Departments including the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council.