19/02/2026
Susan Fryer (NP), Nurse Practitioner and Chief Nurse Advisor at Tōtara Hospice, presented in Wellington alongside Uma Devi, Tōtara Hospice Counsellor, at the 2026 conference: Imagining the ideal assisted dying service in Aotearoa.
They presented in the ‘ Whose Choice is it? Navigating Assisted Dying Across Time, Autonomy and Access’ concurrent session, drawing on Tōtara Hospice’s four years of experience.
They shared how Tōtara Hospice integrates assisted dying support within hospice care and focused on the important role of counsellors and bereavement support for patients and whānau and was illustrated through a de-identified case study. Dr James J*p, Medical Director and Palliative Medicine Specialist at Tōtara Hospice provided an insightful reflection of integrated assisted dying from a hospice perspective during a panel discussion
Our OLLI assisted dying modules reflect this practice-based learning and are endorsed by Dr Jessica Young, Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington. Details in the first comment.
