This document is a submission made in 2018 by the APS to the Australian Capital Territory Parliamentary Inquiry into end of life choices.
The APS endorses a best practice approach to end of life care, requiring that patients fully understand their alternatives and the main ramifications of their decision to access voluntary assisted dying services should they become legal outside Victoria. Ultimately, the APS emphasises the importance of a process that is characterised by care, compassion and considered decision-making over time. The APS envisages that such a process would include access to the full range of care options, from the highest quality palliative care and the most competent psychological assessment and psychosocial support.
Key strategies to improve how people die include education and training to create a better health workforce, creating better infrastructure, and having more appropriate policies and protocols in place to maximise the real choices (and sense of control) available to the seriously and terminally ill.
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