Holistic approach to end of life care

PresCare clients requiring palliative care in the home will benefit from funding the organisation received through the Decision Assist Linkages program, which recently announced more than $1.5 million in grants for aged care providers nationally.

PresCare received $160,000 in funding for their Community Palliative Care Linkages project in Brisbane South and the Palliative Care Connect project in Rockhampton.

The Community Palliative Care Linkages project will see PresCare link with Metro South Palliative Care Services to develop and pilot the new model.

PresCare chief executive, Greg Skelton, says the project will identify a number of factors necessary for effective end of life care.

“The project team will consider things like cultural preferences, the support needs of the family carer, communication processes between community staff and client and their family, and practical matters such as sourcing suitable equipment and access to crisis care. It will be a holistic process,” Mr Skelton says.

The Palliative Care Connect project in Rockhampton will pilot a community palliative care model in the Fitzroy regional area using a Linkage Nurse role. The linkage nurse will link with PresCare’s existing residential clinical lead nurse and with the Fitzroy Specialist Palliative Care service.

Mr Skelton says the model will build on PresCare’s Residential Palliative Approach model, expanding into the community through a tripartite arrangement that links PresCare’s community service, residential aged care facility (PresCare Alexandra Gardens) and the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service (HHS) Palliative Care Service.

Palliative and End of Life Care planning is a key component of PresCare’s strategic direction.

“The palliative approach is being introduced within PresCare’s residential aged care facilities and includes palliative nurse lead positions, standardised palliative resources, staff education and training and advance care planning,” Mr Skelton says.

“A key benefit of this funding is the ability for us to develop more structured palliative care processes in our community care division, which has traditionally been less well developed than in residential care.”

These projects aims to reduce the need for the majority of elderly clients to be transferred to hospital or residential facilities for their end of life care.

The Decision Assist program, funded by the federal government, is enhancing the delivery of advance care planning and palliative care to older Australians, by providing education and support to GPs and aged care staff nationally.

Read about South Australian aged care provider, Helping Hand Aged Care, who also received funding through the Decision Assist Linkages program.