Tyler Redway
AFTER years of advocacy, a Mount Gambier woman is celebrating the upcoming implementation of the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Act.
Jane Qualmann, who suffers from a terminal illness herself, has long been an advocate for VAD and palliative care, and said the occasion deserved a celebration after four years of advocacy work.
“I have always been a believer in Voluntary Assisted Dying,” Ms Qualmann said.
“It’s absolutely amazing because it now gives people a choice… and for people who have shorter time spans, it gives them relief and hope that they can go peacefully with their family.”
Ms Qualmann said now the policy was moving forward, it was more important than ever to begin making conversations about Voluntary Assisted Dying a new norm.
“I hope now the conversations from the powers that be will use the proper language and change the perspective of ‘euthanasia’, which is not what it is,” she said.
“If we don’t start having the conversations about death and dying with palliative care, then we probably won’t receive the good services we need down here.
“The more people talk about it, then the more people will ask questions about it.”
She said care navigators would be based in Adelaide, with the amount of doctors that will be available to regional and rural areas still unknown.
Ms Qualmann said the new policies would not be without their challenges, with the potential to permanently change the perception of some doctors.
She said even if doctors did not want to practice VAD, it would be beneficial if they could have access to a list of any fellow practitioners who were trained in the new field.
“I totally understand that doctors do not want to be known as ‘Doctor Death’ and that is how it has been put to me,” she said.
“If people in our community are with specialists in Adelaide or Victoria, then so long as these doctors can be trained in the basics, they can write the report which will save us a lot of travelling.”
Ms Qualmann also said along with palliative care services, advocates such as herself were also available to discuss more information and ways to access VAD.
“I have talked to my counterparts in the city about our problems down here and they had no idea how dire some of our situations are,” she said.
“My role and the advocate’s roles from now will be trying to push for more and better services.”
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 will be implemented on January 31, 2023.
More information about the upcoming policies, as well as the essential steps needed to be taken in order to gain access to VAD, can be found on SA Health’s website.
