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The views and opinions expressed in our blog series are those of the authors and are not necessarily supported by CareSearch, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health.
I remember a patient some years ago. I’ll call her Maria. She was a lovely Italian woman, in her late 80’s, with a very supportive family. Maria had developed very complex medical problems. She had heart issues, kidney problems and quite severe diabetes. In the last year of her life she had recurring kidney failure and breathing difficulties. She was going in and out of hospital every three or four weeks. The medical team did their very best for her – they were very focused on her medical issues and her symptoms, and she received excellent medical care. A lot of focus was given to how best to look after her kidneys, her heart, her pain and her difficulty with breathing. As her problems multiplied and her needs became increasingly complex, the care she received continued to be excellent.
My name is Elizabeth Shepherd and I am the Program Development and Quality Manager for Palliative Care at the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. Working within this specialised area can be challenging and emotional, however, it can also be very rewarding. My position allows me to work closely with the 3 specialist PPC teams located at Children’s Hospital Westmead, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick and John Hunter Children’s Hospital, Newcastle. Together we are known as The NSW PPC Programme and over the past 5 years I have been fortunate to work with the energetic and dedicated staff from each service to improve the support that is available to children and families across NSW.
The Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) is a national research network that has two main aims: