General News
22 June, 2025
Gilgandra PROBUS Club News
Our June meeting was held last June 12, at the Gilgandra Services Club.
Tour director Denise updated members on several events soon at the Dubbo Regional Theatre Convention Centre.
She also spoke of costs of trips away and some members reluctant to commit to more than one night.
As welfare officer, Denise also sent cards to two of our members.
President Pat welcomed Judy Thomas with her membership badge.
Seven members celebrate their birthdays in June and enjoyed a chocolate.
A young nurse, Yirang from South Korea, is working at our local hospital and was welcomed to our meeting.
This was to help with her English. Members were thrilled to speak to Yirang and she has mastered our language very well. We were happy she also joined us for lunch.
Our guest speaker was Jade O’Brien from Dubbo, and she spoke to us on voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
Jade was born in Gilgandra and attended St Joseph’s School and then trained as a nurse. She worked in the patient flow unit at the Dubbo Base Hospital and emergency behind cameras and then bed manager. Jade then managed the morgue at the hospital with relatives coming in to identify family members. She is now the project leader for VAD in western area health, based at Dubbo.
Last year, NSW was the last state in Australia to be approved for VAD. However, VAD is not available in Canberra or the Northern Territory at this stage.
The rules for VAD are very strict. A person has to be an Australian citizen, live in NSW, and an adult from 18 years of age.
It can be in palliative care and the patient must have decision making capacity and it is their own choice. Request is voluntary, free from pressure and patients make the first step. There are three face-to-face steps with medical professionals, the second with a doctor. The patient consents to a written declaration and a witness cannot be a family member.
The procedure can happen at home orally. Both oral or IV in hospital and is not listed on a death certificate. Only half the people who have made the decision, use the assistance. Patients decide when or where, and families can’t object.
There have been 1140 requests, with only one per cent of the NSW population having used the procedure.
If a religious objection happens at one hospital, patients are transported from that hospital to another one. It is not a 24-hour service.
Jade was thanked on behalf of the Gilgandra PROBUS Club for presenting this very informative discussion.
The club appreciates our guest speakers giving up their time to come to meetings.
