Photo: 123rf
Every few weeks, Dr Katie Ben flies herself with an instructor in to different townships on the West Coast to see patients who have requested an assessment under the End of Life Choice Act.
Covering a patch of Hokitika to Picton, but visiting patients as far as Dunedin and Kaikoura, Dr Ben gives one of two independent assessments on whether or not a patient is eligible for assisted dying.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Ben came to New Zealand in 2009 as a fully qualified anaesthetist and never left.
She is based in Nelson, working in both public and private hospitals, and is also the new president of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists.
At the time the End of Life Choice Act was going through parliament, Ben said she originally voted against it as she could see some holes within the legislation that could be problematic.
Once it was passed, she decided to train and register to become a provider in hopes of plugging some of those holes.
"I visit the patients in their own home. One of the criteria is that they have to have a terminal illness which is likely to end a life within six months, and another one of the criteria is that they have to be suffering an irreversible decline in physical capacity.
"So basically that means they have to be very limited in what they can do and where they can go."
The first meeting has to be face-to-face and the patient is required to sign a consent form.
Driving to all these locations would take too long, so Ben, who is just weeks away from being a qualified pilot, takes an instructor with her on a Socata TB9 to reach the patients.
Dr Katie Ben, pictured with the plane she flies. Photo: Matt Shand ASMS
Most people wanting to access assisted dying are older people with cancer, Ben tells Nine to Noon.
Others have motor neurone diseases and are suffering deep decline, she said.
"Cancer patients tend to want to access assisted dying because they've seen family members or friends go through quite unpleasant deaths."
There is pain involved and dependence on others for personal hygiene.
"They don't want to go through that. There is access to really good palliative care in New Zealand and we have a brilliant relationship, certainly in Nelson and Marlborough, with our hospice colleagues in terms of collaborating to give the best service we can for our patients."
"The motor neurone-type patients tend to want to access assisted death before they lose their ability to eat or talk and before they are also reliant on other people for personal care because they want to be remembered with their dignity intact.
"And a lot of this is about allowing somebody to have a very dignified, very peaceful death. It allows them to plan to have their family around them, it allows them to plan to be where they want to be, and it allows them to have the kind of end of their life that we allow people to plan when they are bringing a new life into the world."
Ben said there are still aspects of the act that could be worked on. It was currently going through a review - and the public was able to share their opinions on it, too.
But on the whole, Ben said she believed it worked well for those people who can access it and are eligible for assisted dying.
Katie Ben, an anaesthetist from Nelson, questions then Health Minister Andrew Little about the timeframe to reduce inequity in the health system in 2022. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
"There are some patients who, even though they are probably terminally ill and even though I can see there is a lot of suffering, which is one of the other criteria, legally they aren't eligible.
"From their point of view, the act isn't working the way they want it to but it is working for the majority of patients."
Ben said she had seen a lot of concern surrounding coercion and people being pushed to end their life.
It was not what she generally saw - with patients being the ones to drive the whole process.
They generally had the support of family - but family members often wanted to process as delayed as possible.
In her role as president of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Ben said she wanted to fix the health service - something she said was an "impossible task".
She was passionate about working conditions for doctors - as doctors were unable to care for patients if they did not look after themselves first.
She said she wanted to see more support, better working conditions and more doctors on the roster.
