Background: The VAD act commenced in Victoria Australia on 19 June 2019. The legislation underpinning this act is complex and unique, and ensuring staff are well-supported in their implementation of VAD in practice is important. This study therefore aimed to understand the experiences and perspectives of staff involved with the operation and implementation of the VAD clinical intervention at a specialist oncology tertiary health service in Melbourne Australia.
Methods: In February 2021, an exploratory study was employed, comprising of a cross-sectional survey to investigate the experiences of health services staff with VAD, specifically: processes and procedures, emotions and values, interactions with colleagues, supporting patients and families, and support and training needs. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively; qualitative open-text responses were analysed thematically.
Findings: 89 health services staff completed surveys. Overall, staff described the complexity of navigating VAD in practice, describing the uniqueness of each experience. Key areas of support for health services staff comprised of ongoing training and education, developing staff communication skills, assistance with workload management, and improved debriefing and peer support. In terms of values, participants discussed employing iterative consideration throughout the implementation of VAD to reaffirm their moral decisions related to VAD.
Conclusion: Assessment of staff perspectives regarding the implementation and clinical practice of VAD identified a range of multifaceted experiences, processes, and support and education needs. Understanding and addressing the key issues identified will be important for the long-term sustainability of VAD, to support staff working in a setting that offers assisted dying, and to provide guidance and support for future implementation in other jurisdictions and countries.