‘Can a relative override a patient’s Advance Care Directive?’: end-of-life legal worries of general practitioners and nurses working in aged care

Abstract

Background This paper aimed to describe the legal worries of Australian general practitioners (GPs) and nurses regarding end-of-life care provided in the aged care setting. Methods An analysis of responses to the final, open-ended question of a cross-sectional online survey of GPs and nurses practising in aged care settings in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria was undertaken. Results Of the 162 GPs and 61 nurses who gave valid responses to the survey, 92% (151 GPs and 55 nurses) responded to the open-ended question. Participants identified concerns across all relevant areas of end-of-life law. The most common concerns were substitute decision-makers or family member(s) wanting to overrule an Advance Care Directive, requests for futile or non-beneficial treatment and conflict about end-of-life decision-making. Participants often also identified concerns about their lack of legal knowledge and their fear of law or risk related to both end-of-life care generally and providing medication that may hasten death. Conclusions Australian GPs and nurses working in aged care have broad-ranging legal concerns about providing end-of-life care. Legal concerns and knowledge gaps identified here highlight priority areas for future training of the aged care workforce.