Euthanasia, Gold Coast: Exit International’s Dr Philip Nitschke says city is euthanasia hub

The man famously dubbed Dr Death says the Gold Coast has become the euthanasia capital of Australia for one simple reason.

THE man famously dubbed Dr Death says the Gold Coast has become the euthanasia hub of Australia partly because retirees fear becoming “trapped” in nursing homes.

Controversial doctor Philip Nitschke says membership at the Gold Coast branch of his Exit International had skyrocketed to become the highest in Australia.

He is expecting hundreds of people over the age of 50, seriously ill and investigating end-of-life choices to attend his annual workshop at Robina next week.

Speaking from the Netherlands where he is now based, Dr Nitschke said his Gold Coast branch was fielding at least 10 calls or emails a day about the event because many retirees did not want to go into an aged care village.

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Euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke.

“This is a major concern for our members,” Dr Nitschke said. “They’re fearful of being trapped in a nursing home.”

“We have a number of cases of people faced with a choice of going into a nursing home who make the decision for a peaceful, elective death.

“They take that step themselves. I suggest they first give a nursing home a try but often they don’t want to leave their own homes,” Dr Nitschke said.

“They say that’s the time they would prefer to die.”

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Controversial euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke on the Gold Coast at a public forum at Robina Community Centre. Photo: Steve Holland

Dr Nitschke said he had been reading media reports about alleged neglect of residents at Earle Haven aged care village at Nerang and the “horrific stories” coming out of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

In shocking scenes last Thursday, emergency services rushed to the Earle Haven village nursing home at Nerang to help with a mass relocation of 71 frail pensioners.

Two aged care advocacy groups, who are presenting submissions to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, said the fact that elderly people on the Gold Coast were seriously considering euthanasia was a “very sad indictment on a broken aged care system”.

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The besieged Earle Haven nursing home in Nerang. Pics Adam Heade

Ian Henschke, chief advocate of National Seniors Australia, is so concerned he has vowed to raise the issue with Aged Care Quality Complaints Commissioner Janet Anderson at the 2019 National Elder Abuse Conference in Brisbane on Monday.

Dr Nitschke will arrive in Australia on Wednesday next week — the day before his assisted dying workshop at Robina.

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“The Gold Coast is a special place for us and I’m expecting hundreds of people to attend,” he said.

Gold Coast Exit co-ordinator Elaine Arch-Rowe said the city had the group’s largest membership base in Australia with 200 members.

“Gold Coasters are becoming more aware of problems in retirement homes. They say they don’t want to go (die) that way, they’re looking for another way out,” she said.

“We’re also getting a lot of calls from spouses and relatives whose family members are suffering in aged care centres. Their loved ones may have dementia now and can’t make their own decisions.

“The callers know they’ve left it too late for their loved ones. They’re contacting us about doing something for themselves before they get to that stage.

“We know of so many people on the Gold Coast who are begging doctors to be able to die. “We also have the support of many local doctors — whom we can’t name — who agree with what we are doing.”

According to the Exit International website, the average age of members is 75.

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