Administration of the voluntary assisted dying substance
Prescription and supply of the voluntary assisted dying substance
Prescription
After you have appointed a contact person, your coordinating doctor can prescribe the voluntary assisted dying substance.
Your coordinating doctor will give the prescription directly to the Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Pharmacy (QVAD-Pharmacy).
Your coordinating doctor must give you information in writing, including:
- information about the voluntary assisted dying substance
- the risks and expected effects of administration of the voluntary assisted dying substance.
This information must be given in a face-to-face consultation or posted to you after the consultation.
The voluntary assisted dying substances can only be supplied by pharmacists employed by QVAD-Pharmacy.
What happens after prescription
Your coordinating doctor will make a request for supply of the voluntary assisted dying substance to QVAD-Pharmacy.
Supply
QVAD-Pharmacy will:
- authenticate the prescription
- confirm the identity of your coordinating doctor who issued the prescription
- check a photo ID document to confirm the identity of the person to whom the voluntary assisted dying substance is to be supplied.
Self-administration
You or your coordinating doctor must contact QVAD-Pharmacy to request them supply the voluntary assisted dying substance to you. You can request that it be supplied at a time of your choosing.
Pharmacists employed by QVAD-Pharmacy will supply the voluntary assisted dying substance directly to you, your contact person or agent. In most cases this pharmacist employed by QVAD-Pharmacy will supply the substance to you directly.
They will also supply the voluntary assisted dying substance kit and written information about the substance, including:
- that you do not have to administer the substance
- what the substance is
- how to store the substance safely
- how to prepare and self-administer the substance
- the expected effects of self-administering the substance
- the period within which you are likely to die after self-administration of the substance
- the potential risks of self-administration of the substance
- the responsibilities of your contact person to give any unused or remaining substance to an authorised disposer for disposal.
The pharmacist employed by QVAD-Pharmacy will check during the supply of the voluntary assisted dying substance for self-administration if you:
- have decision-making capacity
- are acting freely and voluntarily
- are able to administer the substance yourself.
If the pharmacist employed by QVAD-Pharmacy believes you do not meet one of these criteria, they will not supply you with the voluntary assisted dying substance. The pharmacist will tell your coordinating doctor that they have not supplied you with the substance.
What you can do
If a pharmacist employed by QVAD-Pharmacy does not supply you with the substance for a self-administration decision, you can:
- ask to reschedule the supply of the substance, if you regain capacity
- ask your coordinating doctor if you can revoke your self-administration decision and make a new practitioner administration decision, if you cannot physically administer the substance.
Practitioner administration
Your administering doctor or nurse will make a plan with you for when practitioner administration of the voluntary assisted dying substance will occur. When a date and time has been confirmed, they will arrange for the supply of the voluntary assisted dying substance from QVAD-Pharmacy, to be supplied to them, in a timely manner.
Once supplied, your administering doctor or nurse will be responsible for the safe storage of the substance until you request for it to be administered.
What happens after supply
Once the voluntary assisted dying substance has been supplied the next step is administration, if you choose to continue.
You can decide at any time not to continue to access voluntary assisted dying.
In this guide:
- Administration decision
- Appointing the contact person
- Prescription and supply of the voluntary assisted dying substance
- Administration and death
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