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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.
The end of life makes older people more vulnerable to elder abuse. Dr Kelly Purser and Associate Professor Tina Cockburn from the Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology discuss the escalating, and often hidden, problem of elder abuse in Australia’s ageing population and the different forms it can take.
About a third of Australian nurses work in rural and remote practice and many are sole practitioners working in geographically diverse and challenging areas. This requires nurses to have a diverse range of skills, professional and otherwise, including the need to provide quality palliative care. One of our biggest challenges is in being able to maintain those skills in their environment. Ann Aitken, Acting Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services, discusses how the palliAGEDnurse and palliAGEDgp apps provide nurses and their medical colleagues a way to gain 24/7 offline palliative care information to help them in their practice.
Many health professionals would like to help patients with advance care planning. However, most of them need more training and support to improve their skills and confidence. Linda Nolte of Advance Care Planning Australia (ACPA) writes how their free online courses can help upskill and build the confidence of health professionals in this important area.
The End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) helpline (1800 870 155) offers free access to information over the phone to people caring for older Australians with a palliative need. This includes all health professionals and workers in residential aged care, home care, general practice, primary health networks, and allied health professionals. Dr Georgia Rowley and Caroline Litster discuss what the ELDAC helpline is, why it was established, who it can support and reasons why to call it.
Pharmacists can do more than simply fill prescriptions. They can help palliative patients and those living with chronic illnesses manage, review, organise and dispose of medicines. In this CareSearch blog, Paul Tait of Southern Adelaide Palliative Services discusses how to work with pharmacists so they can better support your needs.