Belinda’s Brave Walk donates $5,000 to Kalgoorlie Health Campus
Palliative care patients in Kalgoorlie will benefit from a pressure care mattress bought with the help of a $5,000 donation from voluntary assisted dying campaign Belinda’s Brave Walk.
Belinda Teh joined Kalgoorlie resident Angie Miller and local MPs at the Kalgoorlie Health Campus to present a cheque for $5,000 raised during her walk across Australia in support of voluntary assisted dying laws.
“This donation will go towards a new pressure care mattress for Kalgoorlie locals needing end-of-life care,” Ms Teh said. “End-of-life care is so much more than just pain relief – it is also about making patients more comfortable at the end of their life.”
Ms Teh, who undertook the assisted 3,500km walk from Melbourne to Perth between May and August this year, said the overwhelming support from local residents and local Parliamentarians was the reason she had chosen Kalgoorlie as the place to donate 20 per cent of the funds she had raised during the walk.
“Kalgoorlie is one of the places I received the warmest welcome from locals like Angie Miller as well as the Robin Scott MLC, Kyle McGinn MLC and Kyran O’Donnell MLA who know there is always a need for more local funding for services in the area,” Ms Teh said.
“I remember meeting Angie Miller for the first time when I arrived in Kalgoorlie. She said improving end-of-life care for Western Australians is a two-pronged approach. Introducing voluntary assisted dying laws is essential, but we always need to be looking to improve palliative care.
“Robin Scott, Kyran O’Donnell and Kyle McGinn have individually been instrumental in lobbying the State Government for more palliative care funding in Kalgoorlie. Each of them made it very clear from the outset that they would only support the government’s proposed voluntary assisted dying laws if more funding was dedicated to the Goldfields. I think the recent $3.6 million announcement is a huge win for the region.”
Ms Miller said she was pleased with the progress made this year towards improving end-of-life care delivery in her local community.
“It is heartening to see my local MPs stand up and fight for the right of Western Australians to have access to both palliative care and voluntary assisted dying options when approaching end of life,” Ms Miller said.
“Hopefully the Parliament will vote on and pass this Bill before the end of the year so dying Western Australians who want it can have an extra choice at the end of their life.”
Media contact: Marcus Podyma, Go Gentle Australia [email protected] 0421 383 632