Planning for death: One family’s 12-day dying room experience
7 reported
A Guardian article reports on one family's 12-day experience in a hospital "dying room" on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, where the author's father lay unconscious and unresponsive before death. The author describes massaging his swollen legs, swabbing his dry mouth, and taking turns sleeping on a stretcher. The father had signed a legally binding advance health directive (AHD) in 2005 after a prostate cancer diagnosis, specifying he did not want life-sustaining treatments such as CPR, assisted ventilation, or artificial nutrition. The article notes that only 33% of Australians have undertaken some form of advance planning, and only 6% have formally completed an advance care directive (ACD), according to a 2025 study by Advance Care Planning Australia. Associate Prof Davinia Seah, head of palliative medicine at St Vincent's hospital in Sydney, is quoted describing family conflicts that arise when no documentation exists. The article also profiles John Groves, a New South Wales retiree who completed an ACD after multiple health crises, including cardiomyopathy and a mechanical heart pump implant.
What’s reported
The author's father spent 12 days unconscious and unresponsive in a hospital bed on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
The father signed a legally binding advance health directive in 2005 after a prostate cancer diagnosis.
The directive stated he did not want CPR, assisted ventilation, or artificial nutrition, and wanted to die swiftly without medical intervention beyond palliative care.
Only 33% of Australians have undertaken advance planning; only 6% have formally completed an ACD, per a 2025 study by Advance Care Planning Australia.
Associate Prof Davinia Seah of St Vincent's hospital in Sydney says she frequently sees conflict between family members when no documentation exists.
John Groves, a New South Wales retiree, completed an ACD after developing cardiomyopathy and having a mechanical heart pump implanted.
Groves' ACD states he wants to be cared for at home if possible, be kept pain-free, accept CPR but not renal dialysis, and donate organs.
Key figures
Associate Prof Davinia Seah, head of palliative medicine at St Vincent's hospital in Sydney
John Groves, New South Wales retiree
Dawn Groves, John's wife, social worker and case manager at Kempsey correctional centre
One doctor who asked not to be named
Sources: The Guardian
