Five applications to die lodged each week
More than 140 applications to die have been made by terminally ill Victorians since voluntary assisted dying laws came into force on June 19.
Figures seen by The Age show there have been about five applications per week in the first six months of the landmark euthanasia laws, with the scheme looking poised to far surpass preliminary estimates for the first year.
While the actual number of people who have died using the new laws is not yet known, it is estimated at least a dozen people have taken their own lives using government-endorsed medication. A person can make more than one application if they are initially rejected.
Eleven people received approval to end their lives within the first 11 days of the scheme’s operation.
Based on international experience, the state government predicted the number of patients accessing the laws could be as low as 12 in the first year, before stabilising at about 150 people a year.
Figures seen by The Age do not take into account how many permits have been granted, how many applications have been rejected, nor how many people have died using the medication provided under the new laws.
The state government would not comment on the data viewed by The Age ,in keeping with Health Minister Jenny Mikakos’ determination not to offer a ‘‘running commentary’’ on the progress of assisted dying.
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, which assesses every application, will release its next report in February which will reveal the number of people who have taken their own life using the laws.
Under the laws, two doctors, including an expert in the person’s disease, must conduct favourable assessments of a person’s eligibility.
Doctors have the right to object to taking part in the scheme.
A person has to make three separate requests to end their life after initiating the process themselves.
Melbourne oncologist Dr Cameron McLaren, who sits on the Dying with Dignity board, has helped 24 patients get permits.
The most profound red tape hurdle for many of them, he said, was finding a specialist doctor in their disease who had undertaken the mandatory assisted dying training.
McLaren often spends hours each week driving across the state to visit people wanting to end their lives.
Most require up to three appointments, even though many are bedridden or too ill to leave their homes.
McLaren said there was a significant shortage of haematologists who had undertaken the training and were able to assess patients dying from blood cancer.
‘‘As it currently stands, it is being upheld by very few of us,’’ McLaren said.
‘‘The people involved in the scheme are doing a fantastic job but there is a real need for more specialist doctors to sign up.
‘‘They need to realise they are not going to jeopardise their business or be tarred and feathered in the main street of Melbourne.
‘‘They can provide a very valuable and compassionate service which gives people control of their bodies in the final days of their life.’’
The laws allow access to a lethal substance for terminally ill adults who have only about six months to live – or no longer than 12 months for those with a neurodegenerative diagnosis – and who meet other strict eligibility criteria such as being able to give informed consent.
Most people will drink the dose – a lethal powder mixed with about 100 millilitres of a liquid medication – in their own homes at a time of their choosing. Under certain circumstances, those too ill and physically incapable of swallowing will be allowed to take the substance through an intravenous drip set up by a doctor.
A spokeswoman for Mikakos said the numbers of doctors registered with the assisted dying scheme had increased threefold since the laws came into effect.
‘‘We are pleased with the number of doctors trained – and the increase in numbers is consistent with our expectations before the start of the laws,’’ she said.
‘‘We expect training numbers to continue to increase over time as doctors see the system in practice and more patients approach them.’’
The government declined to provide a breakdown of specialists but did reveal that 360 doctors have registered or completed the training including family doctors, cancer specialists and palliative care clinicians. About a third of doctors are based in regional Victoria.
The government stressed there were processes in place for those struggling to find a doctor who had undertaken the training, including three voluntary assisted dying care ‘‘navigators’’ who are based at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, providing patients, doctors and hospitals across the state with information and support. – Nine