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Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) is responsible for overseeing and monitoring all operational aspects of the Assisted Dying Service, including collecting data and generating summary reports. Information continues to be released quarterly, in line with the calendar year.

Due to low numbers, some quarterly data (such as the number of applications by month and region) is suppressed to protect the privacy of the people engaging with the service.

Please note that the current report reflects a summary of individuals’ interactions with the Assisted Dying Service within the three-month period ending 30 June 2024. Accordingly, medical assessments and outcomes may refer to applications initiated in a prior quarter. 

Detailed reports of the cumulative data across the first and second years of service (November 2021 – November 2022, and November 2022 – December 2023) are available on the Health NZ website: Assisted Dying Service yearly reporting. The second years report is attached here: (DOCX, 172 KB), (PDF, 296 KB)

Assisted dying service activities this quarter

   

Overview of assisted dying service

Between 01/04/2024 and 30/06/2024, the service received 299 applications for assisted dying. There were also 73 active applications that had been initiated before this quarterly reporting period.

Attending medical practitioners (AMPs) completed 272 assessments, and independent medical practitioners (IMPs) completed 221 assessments. Psychiatrists were also involved in some assessments (the number supressed for privacy protection) in this period. In total, 213 applications were confirmed as eligible.

AMPs facilitated 126 assisted deaths during this quarter.

Of the applications reviewed during this period, 98 were still in progress as at 30/06/2024.

During this quarter, 148 applications did not proceed to an assisted death due to:

  • the applicant being found to not comply with The End of Life Choice Act 2019
  • the applicant withdrawing their application
  • the applicant being found non-eligible or not competent to give consent at, or following assessment
  • the applicant dying due to underlying conditions.

Of the 299 applications received during this quarter:

  • 80% were Pākehā
  • 7% were Māori
  • 53.5% were Male/Tāne 
  • 80% were aged 65 years or older
  • 76% were receiving palliative care at the time of the application
  • 59.5% had a diagnosis of cancer.

Demographic summary of applications

A demographic summary of the 299 applications received this quarter is presented in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Demographics of people who have applied for assisted dying services in the period

Demographic summary

Applications3

% of applications

Ethnic group1

Māori

21

7.02%

New Zealand European/Pākehā

240

80.27%

Other5

46

12.37%

Sex

Female/Wāhine

139

46.49%

Male/Tāne

160

53.51%

Gender diverse

0

0.00%

Age Group

18-44

7

2.34%

45-64

53

17.73%

65-84

176

58.86%

85+

63

21.07%

Diagnosis2

Cancer

178

59.53%

Cardio-Vascular condition

11

3.68%

Chronic Respiratory Disease

20

6.69%

Multiple Co-Morbidities

8

2.68%

Neurological Condition

21

7.02%

Other Organ Failure

8

2.68%

Not known4

34

11.37%

Receiving palliative care at the time of application?

Yes

228

76.25%

No

71

23.75%

Not Stated

0

0.00%

Reported a disability at the time of application?

Yes

41

13.71%

No

258

86.29%

Not Stated

0

0.00%

 

Notes:

1. Total ethnicity has been used. This means that individuals reporting more than one ethnicity are included within each category to which they identify. Ethnicity in this report is based on patient records in the health system, while in the previous reports ethnicity in the application form was used.

2. Total diagnosis has been used. This means that individuals presenting with multiple diagnoses are included within each applicable diagnostic category.

3. Valid repeat applications are included as unique instances. This means that if an individual submits multiple applications during this period, their information is recorded in the demographic data each time.

4. ‘Diagnosis not known’ includes individuals who have applied but have not yet completed their first assessment with their AMP (Attending Medical Practitioner) as well as those who withdrew, died before this assessment was completed, or were ineligible.

5. “Other” ethnic group includes all other ethnicity groups including Pacifica

Assisted Deaths by Location

Between 01/04/2024 and 30/06/2024, 126 people had an assisted death. Assisted deaths can take place at the person’s home or elsewhere in the community. The summary by location is:

  • 84 (or 68%) at the person’s home
  • 17 (or 13.5 %) in a public hospital
  • 25 (or 20%) in a community facility (e.g., aged residential care, hospice, retirement home).

SCENZ (Support and Consultation for End-of-Life in New Zealand) group practitioner lists

The Support and Consultation for End-of-Life in New Zealand group (SCENZ) is responsible for maintaining the list of medical practitioners and psychiatrists who provide assisted dying services.

Medical practitioners can be on the SCENZ list for more than one role, depending on their scope of practice: AMP (Attending Medical Practitioner), IMP (Independent Medical Practitioner), or Psychiatrist.

As of 30/06/2024, 117 medical practitioners (including Doctors, and Psychiatrists) and 15 attending Nurse Practitioners were on the SCENZ list. A growing number of health practitioners have chosen to become providers of assisted dying services as AMPs for their own patients without registering to be included on the SCENZ list. A portion of these health practitioners have subsequently chosen to join the SCENZ group and to make themselves available to additional patients.