CareSearch Blog: Palliative Perspectives

By working together, aged care, specialist palliative care and primary care providers can improve the care they provide for older Australians. ELDAC’s Facilitators from Queensland University of Technology discuss the ELDAC ‘Working Together’ toolkit and how they can help create partnerships between services.

Implementing a palliative approach to care enables residential aged care facilities to support the quality of life, comfort and dignity for each of their resident from admission to death. Mark Butler from Eldercare discusses how their organisation implemented a palliative approach, and the benefits it brings to their residents and their families and multidisciplinary staff members.

Many of us are unaware that Dementia is a terminal illness. It is currently the second leading cause of death overall in Australia. Kirsty Carr from Dementia Australia discusses three things you need to know about dementia and dying. 

General Practitioners (GPs), especially those in rural areas, face challenges when delivering palliative care for older Australians. Jennifer Tieman, CareSearch Director at Flinders University discusses how palliAGEDgp, an evidence-based and easy-to-access smartphone app, has been helping thousands of doctors support our elderly who are faced with life-limiting illness.

The WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network (WACPCN), WA Department of Health is committed to delivering quality and culturally respectful end-of-life and palliative care in Western Australia. This year the WACPCN released their WA End-of-Life and Palliative Care Strategy 2018-2028. Frances Arthur from the WA Department of Health discusses the importance and priorities of the strategy including insights from the community during consultation process, as well as the broad consultation undertaken during development to identify gaps, innovations and improvements.