The Southern NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Program team were awarded the Rural/Remote Multidisciplinary Collaboration of the Year award at the National Rural and Remote Health Awards this week. 

This large multidisciplinary project team were recognised for their collaboration with staff and the community to initiate a new, accessible Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) model of care for the dispersed rural population in their region.  

COORDINARE's CEO, Prudence Buist, applauds the program team for their award: “This award is well deserved as the team has consistently demonstrated an outstanding commitment to collaboration and consultation with a broad range of professionals and stakeholders, including the many GPs working in Southern NSW.  

“At COORDINARE we focus our efforts to achieve a one-system mindset to improve the health and wellbeing of our community. The Southern NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Program is a wonderful example of how our community benefits when true collaboration is achieved,” said Ms Buist. 

In receiving the reward, Janice Dalton, Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) Community Aged and Disability Program Manager, said a strong relationship with COORDINARE played an important role in establishing the SNSWLHD service.  

“We worked really closely with the PHN, which was crucial because most of the process steps for VAD are conducted by medical authorised practitioners who have completed the training, and we needed to make sure that we had a wide GP base engaged across our district,” said Janice.  

COORDINARE’s medical director Southern NSW, Dr Nabila Rajabali is the team’s Project Medical Lead. 

The project engaged with multidisciplinary representatives from services such as medical, nursing, allied health, pharmacy, palliative care, medical and cancer services, aboriginal health, medical records, residential care facilities, primary health practitioners, COORDINARE - South Eastern NSW PHN, HealthShare, community consultancy committees, general practitioners and religious groups.  

Read the full story by Rural Health Pro, here.