Number Of South Australians Expected To Access Voluntary Assisted Dying Revealed

It’s understood around 140 terminally ill South Australians will access voluntary assisted dying in 2023 when new laws take effect.

SA Health has also revealed 32 medical practitioners will be trained and deemed eligible to administer drugs to assist in voluntarily death from January 31, 2023.

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Passed in June last year, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 was originally set to begin at the end of March, but the state government brought the date forward.

SA Health’s modelling is based off similar assistance programs in Victoria and Western Australia

Voluntary assisted dying implementation taskforce chair Chris Moy told the Advertiser he expected “significantly more” people to “start the process but may not complete it”, as had been the case interstate.

“Patients are already asking (their doctors) about it,” Dr Moy said.

“Some patients, for them, the comfort of holding on to the medication is enough of a relief for their fear or concerns about the dying process.

“They may not end up taking the medication themselves but just having that there is a significant reassurance.”

Certain criteria must be met by voluntary assisted dying patients, including being over the age of 18, and diagnosed by two different practitioners, including a specialist, that they are suffering from a chronic/terminal illness.

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