Free Seminar on Palliative Care and Legal Implications of New Laws

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The QUT Faculty of Law
in association with QUT Faculty of Health
Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education
and Palliative Care Queensland

presents

A FREE PUBLIC LECTURE

"The Edge of Palliative Care: A Question of Intent"

Held on: Wednesday 4 June 2003

The law is about to change to protect health care professionals from criminal prosecution where they administer treatment to relieve a patient's pain and that treatment also hastens death.

Health care professionals working in the palliative care field currently risk possible criminal sanctions where the treatment required to relieve a patient's pain can also hasten his or her death. The law is now about to change to protect from prosecution those who administer palliative care in accordance with good medical practice and with an intent to relieve pain, rather than hasten death.

This imminent change to the law may have important practical implications for doctors and others practising in palliative care, for patients who receive this sort of treatment and their families, and for those with an interest in the intersection between law and medicine.

This lecture will be of interest to:

• Members of the public
• Health care professionals
• Lawyers working in the health care profession

CHAIR: Michael Barnes - Head of the QUT School of Justice Studies, and Coroner designate

PANEL:

• Associate Professor Lindy Willmott - QUT Faculty of Law
• Mr Ben White - QUT Faculty of Law
• Dr Grant Cameron - Director of Palliative Care, The Prince Charles, Royal Brisbane and Royal Women's Hospitals Combined Palliative Care Service
• Ms Georgi Slade - Clinical Nurse Consultant, Mt Olivet Palliative Home Care Service
• Ms Colleen Cartwright - Chief Investigator and Project Manager, End-of- Life Decision-Making Studies, School of Population Health, University of Queensland
• Mr Peter Wellington MP - Member for Nicklin