Voices From Voluntary Assisted Dying23 Aug

Episode 27 – You Can't Always Cure, But You Can Always Heal

Voluntary assisted dying isn't just about end-of-life choice – it challenges medicine to rethink its purpose. Dr Clare Fellingham argues that while medicine cannot always cure, it can always heal by reducing suffering, preserving dignity, and putting patients at the centre of their care.

Dr Fellingham is a consultant anaesthetist, palliative medicine advanced trainee, and WA Board director for VAD Australia and New Zealand (VADANZ), the peak body representing excellence in VAD care. As an active VAD practitioner, Dr Fellingham considers it an immense privilege filled with meaning and purpose to walk alongside people with a life limiting illness, as they explore all available end-of-life care options.

In this episode, drawing on more than five years implementing and delivering voluntary assisted dying services, Clare reflects on why this work has transformed her life and career. She discusses patient-directed care, the misconceptions surrounding voluntary assisted dying, the emotional realities for practitioners, the importance of supporting families through grief, and why sustainable funding is essential if compassionate end-of-life care is to remain accessible.

Comprehensive information on Voluntary Assisted Dying in Your State is provided on the Go Gentle website at https://www.gogentleaustralia.org.au/vad_in_your_state or by contacting your State Health Department.

If listening to this podcast raises distressing issues for you, please contact one of the following support services:
Griefline (https://griefline.org.au/) 1300 845 745
Grief Australia (https://www.grief.org.au/) 1800 642 745
Lifeline (https://www.lifeline.org.au/) 13 11 14, or chat online 24 hours a day

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Episoder(29)

Episode 29 – SA Deputy Premier Kyam Maher reflects on the hard-fought push for VAD

Kyam Maher, South Australian Deputy Premier and Attorney-General, reveals how his mother's harrowing pancreatic cancer death drove him to introduce South Australia's successful 2020 voluntary assisted...

6 Sep 23min

Episode 28 – How the NT's New VAD Law Falls Short of 1995

Marshall Perron drafted the world's first voluntary assisted dying legislation in 1995 as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – decades before most nations even debated the issue, and years befor...

30 Aug 25min

Episode 26 – Sandra’s journey to access VAD

This year, Sandra was diagnosed with the same aggressive lung cancer that took her father's life. Having spent thirteen years as an ambulance clinician and watched her father suffer through chemothera...

26 Jul 25min

Episode 25 – Nicole

The experience of voluntary assisted dying is shaped not only by legislation, but by access. Nicole’s family discovered that geography, travel requirements and gaps in healthcare services can create s...

28 Jun 22min

Episode 24 – Why We Need Better Conversations About Dying

Death is universal, yet modern society often treats it as something hidden, feared and rarely discussed. Cultural anthropologist and Buddhist scholar Dr Hannah Gould explores how religion, medicine, m...

14 Jun 42min

Episode 23 - The Rural Reality of Voluntary Assisted Dying with Dr Tim Leeuwenburg

Access to voluntary assisted dying can depend heavily on where a patient lives. Rural doctor Dr Tim Leeuwenburg sees this firsthand through his work on Kangaroo Island, where patients often face long ...

31 Mai 27min

Episode 22 - How the ACT Legalised Voluntary Assisted Dying

ACT Attorney-General Tara Cheyne reflects on the long and complex journey to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in the ACT, from the overturning of Northern Territory laws in 1997 to the restorat...

28 Apr 49min