Webinars on Assisting Dying 9 Sep 2021

The Ministry of Health has created a series of webinars on the topic of Assisted Dying.

The Ministry of Health has created a series of webinars on the topic of Assisted Dying. These webinars are for people working in the health sector only. They may be of particular interest to health practitioners who may choose to be involved in providing assisted dying services in New Zealand, as well as people working on planning related to assisted dying services. 

Register for our webinar on Wednesday 15 September about the wider health workforce
Click here to register for our September webinar about the role of the wider health workforce in assisted dying services.  

Dr Kristin Good, Chief Clinical Advisor at the Ministry of Health and an experienced GP, will be joined by a panel of representatives from health and disability service providers in primary care and community settings.
Our panel will share the work their organisations have been doing to prepare for the implementation of assisted dying, including preparing and supporting their staff in relation to this new health service.

• Hamish Crooks is the Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Homecare, which provides home-based healthcare throughout the Auckland region to older people and people with disabilities.
• Anna Blackwell is the Manager and Owner of Cook Street Nursing Care Centre, an aged care facility in Palmerston North. Anna is a registered nurse and is a member of the Nursing Leadership Group at the New Zealand Aged Care Association.
• Dr Jo Scott-Jones is a GP with a practice in Opotiki and the Medical Director of Pinnacle Midlands Health Network. Jo is the chairperson of the primary care clinical leaders forum.
• Alastair Higham-Lee, Project Lead in the End of Life Choice Act implementation team, will also provide an update on the work the Ministry of Health is undertaking to support health and disability service providers to prepare for when assisted dying services become available.
   

Access the recording of the previous implementation webinars
 
We are making recordings of our previous webinars available through LearnOnline. These cover international experiences of providing assisted dying services, patient perspectives on assisted dying, and whānau centred end of life care. 

Click here to access the recordings of our previous assisted dying implementation webinars.
You will need to have a log-in for LearnOnline to access these recordings – you can make an account through the above link.
 
Registrations of interest for the lists held by the SCENZ Group are now open
The Ministry of Health is inviting medical practitioners, nurse practitioners and psychiatrists to register their interest for the lists of practitioners willing to provide parts of the assisted dying services.
As part of the implementation of the Act, the statutory body for the assisted dying service, the Support and Consultation for End of Life in New Zealand (SCENZ) Group, was recently formed. 
An important part of the role of the SCENZ Group is to maintain lists of medical practitioners, nurse practitioners and psychiatrists who will be able to provide parts of the assisted dying service. 
Medical practitioners, nurse practitioners, and psychiatrists interested in being included on the SCENZ lists can express interest here.
Information provided will be securely held, and the process will confirm practitioner skills and experience for inclusion on the lists.  The registration for the lists will be an enduring part of the assisted dying service. Information about the role of pharmacists will be available soon.
Find out more about the SCENZ Group here.

Further information and guidance will be available over the coming weeks
The webinar series is part of the Ministry of Health’s work to provide training, information and guidance about the implementation of assisted dying services.
A range of resources are being created to help health professionals and health and disability service providers prepare for when assisted dying becomes available in New Zealand on 7 November 2021. All resources can be accessed through LearnOnline.
All health professionals are encouraged to complete the End of Life Choice Act 2019: Overview module to support their understanding of the Act and their obligations under the Act. 
Further resources and training will be added over the coming weeks including:

• An e-learning module about the assisted dying pathway
• A guide to support conversations about assisted dying, and an accompanying e-learning module, developed with the Health Quality and Safety Commission
• Guidance to support health and disability service providers to develop internal policies and procedures
• Resources for health and disability service providers to use to educate the non-clinical and/or non-regulated workforce
• A series of e-learning modules for medical and nurse practitioners who are planning to provide assisted dying services.

 
If you have questions, please contact us at: eolc@health.govt.nz End of Life Choice Act implementation programme team.