A terminally ill man requested to end his own life after waiting months for help from the federal government.
Cyril Tooze, 86, was approved for the highest level of home care support under the government’s MyAgedCare program in January due to unsurvivable lung and heart conditions.
The Adelaide Hills man was initially given an estimated wait time of nine months to receive the home care he desperately needed.
Ten months later, Tooze is still waiting as his health continues to deteriorate to the point where he now weighs 42kg.
He is one of more than 70,000 elderly Australians waiting to receive home care.
Tooze has now decided that death would be a better course of action than waiting any longer in pain.
He has applied to end his own life using South Australia’s voluntary assisted dying scheme.
“The health situation is simply in crisis in this country,” he said. nine news.
Terminally ill man Cyril Tooze (pictured) requested euthanasia after waiting more than 10 months for home health care from the federal government.
“It’s been 10 months now and there’s still no package.”
With his only family living in Queensland and no other surgery options to drain fluid from his lungs, he is desperate to live out his days at home.
Although she was offered respite care assistance, she still could not afford it in addition to rent.
Ultimately, Tooze received temporary home care assistance after going public with her story in hopes that the government would act.
“They have to do something and something fast,” Mr Tooze said.
“People are dying.”
Her local independent MP, Rebekha Sharkie, said it was “shameful” that waiting times for home care had doubled since 2022.
“If this story doesn’t make the government act, sit up and take notice and make this investment immediately, I don’t know what will,” he said.
‘We were waiting between one and three months, which was a long time. Now, 15 months is what it shows on the government website.’
Aged Care Minister Anika Wells told Nine News she could not comment on individual cases.
Tooze said he didn’t want to continue living in pain while waiting for the government to provide him with the care it gave him in February. Pictured is MP Rebekha Sharkie.
South Australia’s voluntary assisted dying scheme was introduced in January last year.
Permission may be granted if the applicant has been diagnosed with an advanced, incurable illness that will kill them within the next six months and is “causing suffering… that cannot be relieved.”
Almost 200 South Australians were granted permission to access the VAD during the first year of the scheme.
