Evidence is an important component in providing best practice person-centred palliative care. While our evidence base is growing, we need to ensure that evidence is readily accessible and used so that all Australians affected by life-limiting illness are able to receive the best quality clinical care and service delivery.

What is the nature of person-centred care in the context of palliative care and aged care? Following the Aged Care Royal Commission hearing Professor Jennifer Tieman explores some of the issues involved in ensuring that there is holistic care for older Australians receiving aged care services coming to the end of their life.

No matter their diverse characteristics, life experiences, cultural background, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation or financial situation, every Australian has the right to have to their individual needs and expectations met without discrimination. For many, there remains a difficulty in accepting that older adults or those who are at end of life want intimacy and have sexuality needs. Nigel McGothigan, Director of Aged Care and Health Care Education from Australian Capital College discusses the tools put in place to support the aged care workforce to understand and be agile in addressing expectations and the complex and diverse care needs of the older person.

Providing end-of-life care to residents with advanced life-limiting illnesses can be challenging for clinicians and health care workers. In this blog, Professor Deborah Parker and Dr Holly Mack from the University of Technology Sydney discuss how the ELDAC Residential Aged Care toolkit can assist you and your organisation in meeting the new Aged Care Quality Standards.

As Australia continues to recognise the value of good-quality palliative care, so too comes the need to support our aged care workforce with the information and resources to provide it. Suzanne Greenwood from Catholic Health Australia discusses how the End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) project connects health professionals with relevant and useful tools, information and resources that will help them deliver care that meets consumer expectations.