A majority of aged care providers are making it difficult for elderly West Australians to access voluntary assisted dying, a new report has revealed.

Of the State’s facilities featured in the Go Gentle Australia findings, three in four had no public information available on end-of-life choices for patients or did not supporting accessing VAD on-site.

A further 15 per cent had limited information while only 10 per cent provided comprehensive information and unrestricted access to VAD.

WA was the second worst performing State for accessing VAD in aged care despite becoming one of the first to pass the legislation.

The new report has also published providers’ names for the first time with nine out of the 11 listed for WA not having easily accessible information on VAD.

Aegis, Opal Healthcare, Signature Care, Rosewood Care Group, SwanCare Group, Hall & Prior, CraigCare, Bolton Clarke, and Italian Aged Care Incorporated were all named and shamed for not having public information available on their VAD policies.

Regis was the only aged care provider listed for WA that conducted best practice for VAD.

Go Gentle Australia chief executive Linda Swan said the findings raised serious questions about whether providers are meeting their obligations under state VAD law and the federal Aged Care Act.

She said aged care homes not having public policies on VAD left individuals and families to navigate uncertainty at a highly vulnerable time.

“Sadly, this report shows the system is failing older Australians,” she said.

“People entering aged care need to know which health services will be available for them and they need to know that their end-of-life choices will be respected and supported.

“However, far too many aged care homes do not provide this simple information. This is a core obligation under the Aged Care Act and this lack of transparency and inaction raises serious concerns about how these facilities are supporting their residents’ legal right to access VAD.”

The report recommended that providers’ with multiple complaints should be investigated, State Government to enforce VAD obligations for facilities, health information providers to ensure residents are aware of their rights, and all aged care providers should develop a VAD policy.

Older Persons Advocacy Network chief executive Craig Gear called for urgent change.

“It should not be controversial to say that all of us, no matter where we live, are entitled to choose the end-of-life care that is right for us. Where legal, this includes voluntary assisted dying,” he said.

“Too often, older people enter residential aged care without knowing whether their end-of-life decisions will be respected. That lack of transparency must change.”

As well as the report, Go Gentle has rated the largest providers of aged care homes in Australia on how they support people who choose VAD, and published the results in an online database.