Dr Sara Townend (Clinical Director, Access Service – NSW VAD Support Service and Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) VAD Local Support Team (VAD-LST), General Practitioner)

Dr Sara Townend is the Clinical Director of the medical outreach team within the NSW VAD Support Service, responsible for providing VAD services to patients across NSW, particularly those within regional and rural areas. She is an experienced GP who has worked in adult and pediatric palliative care, in addition to leading the Medical Evacuation Response Group (MERG), a coalition of organizations tasked with evacuating refugees in need of care from Manus and Nauru.

Dr Wade Stedman (Statewide VAD Medical Lead, Intensivist)

Dr Wade Stedman is a Senior Staff Specialist in ICU at RNSH in Sydney. He has a particular interest in End-of-Life Care, Cardiovascular ICU, Trainee wellbeing and education. Over the past 18 months, he has been the Medical Lead for the Implementation of Voluntary Assisted Dying in NSW and is also a VAD Authorised Practitioner. In this role, he was the chair of the NSW VAD Clinical Advisory Group.

Associate Professor Fiona Robinson (Authorised practitioner, Access Service in statewide NSW VAD Support Service)

Associate Professor Fiona Robinson is Head of the General Practice Clinical School within the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. She is the education lead for delivery of the GP curriculum in the Sydney Medial School. Her research interests include medication safety, transitions of care, patient education and end of life choices. Clinically she has worked in northern Sydney for many years as a GP and now as a VMO in the VAD statewide Access Service. She represents general practice on various committees, both at NSLHD and the SNPHN, including the clinical council and the education advisory group.

Hazel Blanco (Manager, NSLHD VAD-LST)

Hazel Blanco is Manager, NSLHD VAD-LST and was nursing co-lead for implementation of the VAD program in NSLHD. She has 13 years’ experience in the field of organ and tissue donation both in Australia and the UK in a variety of roles donor coordinator, education coordinator, A/Clinical Manager and A/Director of Nursing OTDS. Prior to this, she worked in ICU nursing in Australia and UK. She is passionate about end-of-life care and options available to patients.

General Practitioners, Nurse Practitioners, Practice Managers across NSW

• Critically evaluate the integration of Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) into end-of-life planning, including its coordination with palliative care services, and propose improvements based on case studies and current practices
• Assess referral processes for VAD services, analyse emerging trends in patient choices regarding the location and type of VAD administration, and develop strategies to enhance the role of General Practitioners in these processes
• Identify and solve challenges faced by authorised practitioners in delivering VAD services, and in designing comprehensive training and support programs to ensure effective implementation.

Judy or Robi, Education Coordinators – 9432 8250 or events@snhn.org.au.