Review board to examine suicides of eight patients who were rejected for VAD
The board is interested in reform but warns the process is lengthy and subject to political whims.
Eight suicides by patients denied access to voluntary assisted dying are being examined by the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board in Victoria, which could trigger changes to the eligibility criteria for the euthanasia scheme.
This week, AusDoc reported on the case of an 82-year-old man who took his own life in his Melbourne home, which the State Coroner said was linked to his ineligibility for voluntary assisted dying (VAD) because he was not terminally ill.
Geoffrey McConachy — who had told his family he had wanted a VAD death following a stroke — was found lying in his own blood in bed by his son and a family friend.
He had inflicted a 6cm knife wound to his right leg.
