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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.
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.
Due to advances in medicine, people with physical disabilities are living longer. While end-of-life care should be readily accessible for this group, the care needs of people with significant physical disabilities arguably adds an additional layer of complexity to such care. Dr Ruth Walker from Flinders University discusses end-of-life care needs for adults with long-standing physical disability and the new research she is involved in to explore the specific needs of people with physical disabilities who are at the end-of-life, as well as the needs of their families and the support staff who help care for them.