By Amanda Murthy
St John of God Health Care (SJGHC) remains opposed to and would not allow assisted suicide to be carried out in any of its seven WA hospitals or specialist palliative care units.
The Catholic group runs some of Western Australia’s biggest health facilities, including a 578-bed hospital in Perth’s inner-west at Subiaco and a 511-bed hospital in Murdoch, in Perth’s southern suburbs.
In a recent report, The Australian revealed that Catholic health care providers offer more than 1800 hospital beds in WA – about 30 per cent of the state’s total. Catholic groups also provide 1450 residential aged-care beds and 750 independent living units and retirement units.
SJGHC Group Chief Executive Dr Shane Kelly told The eRecord that it is essential that “every person has access to the care they need at the end of life”, urging the Government to instead support the demands to provide resources that will improve the delivery of quality palliative care services that support the dignity of patients and their families by caring for their physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs.
“All Australians expect and deserve access to high quality healthcare from our first breath, to our last,” Dr Kelly stated.
“There are few occasions when a person, young or old, experiences greater vulnerability than when it comes to the end of life.
“We believe that improving the quality of, and access to, palliative care services would alleviate concerns that lead people to expressing a desire to hasten the end of life.
“Palliative care services are currently not meeting demand in Western Australia and there are large disparities in equity of access, with a number of people unable to access the care they need, when and where they need it,” he added.
“More resource is needed and in particular, additional resources to meet the needs of people from Indigenous communities, those living in remote areas and residential aged care, as well as in hospitals and at home are required.”
Dr Kelly went on to express that through the many years of experience in working with patients and their families at the end of life, SJGHC has demonstrated that through the provision of appropriate and timely care, concerns which lead people to express a desire to hasten the end of life can be addressed.
“Palliative care supports patients and families who are experiencing a potential life-limiting condition or an illness that is not responding to curative treatment, to help patients remain active and comfortable for as long as possible while minimising pain and other symptoms.” Dr Kelly cited.
Back in November 2017, Victoria became the first Australian state to pass legislation to make assisted suicide legal for the terminally ill, and the law came into effect in June 2019.
Dr Kelly said that if a similar Bill was passed in WA, it was “imperative” that any person or organisation exercising a conscientious objection to assisted suicide be given protection under the law for not participating in or allowing this to occur in their facilities.
“Assisted suicide requires authorising a medical professional to supply lethal means so that a person can end their own life.
“The legislation recently enacted in Victoria has recognised individual and organisational rights to refuse to be involved in the provision of assisted suicide, and our position is that this must also be the case if assisted suicide is legalised here in WA,” he continued.
“We strongly believe that any law that legalises voluntary assisted dying should also provide the same level of legal protection to practitioners, groups and organisations to ensure they are not compelled to participate and go against their own strongly held values, beliefs and ethics.”
Dr Kelly added that Catholic providers believe that all people should be able to access high quality palliative care when and where they need it, to be cared for with respect and dignity, and that these rights will be protected as they approach the end of their life.
“SJGHC offers access to palliative care services from palliative medical specialists, nurses, counsellors, social workers and pastoral care practitioners,” Dr Kelly said.
“Our palliative care services support the physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of living with a life-limiting illness, which supports patients and their families to make important choices about their care options.”