Page 3132 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 August 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
(3) Not applicable.
(4) No.
(5) Not applicable.
(6) (a) Nil
(b) 2005 – 1; 2006 – 2; 2007 – 2; 2008 (to date) – 1
(c) In the period requested there has only been one episode where mediation and conciliation was conducted with a patient’s family.
(7) (a) Patients may experience very different journeys on their way to Clare Holland House. For some people the likelihood of treatment at Clare Holland develops over a long time; for others it can be a rapid transition to palliative and end of life care. There is no formula applied to every patient as doing so would discount their own plans and preparation and would devalue the treatment pathway they have selected prior to this chapter of their life.
The most important explanation given to every patient at Clare Holland House is that they will be treated with respect and dignity by skilled professionals. The objective of the facility and the Clare Holland team is to make the limited time available to a palliative care or end of life patient a special time where they can engage with their family and friends.
(b) The details of any person with a power of attorney for a patient are required to be captured on the patient’s admission documentation.
(c) The doctors and nurses at Clare Holland House develop a close relationship with patients and their family and the details of decision making persons and decision making processes are discussed and agreed at appropriate times along the patient journey.
(8) The circumstances where the wishes of a person with a power of attorney for a patient would not be acted on would be in the event that the patient for whom they held the power of attorney was of sound mind and determined a different decision or course of action to that favoured by the person holding the power of attorney, or if the person holding the power of attorney seeks a course of treatment or a medical process that does not conform to the Little Company of Mary Health Care values and ethical standards practiced by Calvary Health Care ACT, and/or Territory and Commonwealth legislation.
(9) The Calvary Health Care ACT Consent Policy which is based on legislation applies to patients in all Calvary Health Care facilities. These policies are followed at all Calvary facilities, and particular attention is paid to the policies at Clare Holland House.
Whilst Clare Holland House is exclusively an end-of-life and palliative care facility, the emphasis remains on living and achieving what the patient and family see as important. In that context it is vital that the appropriate decision making processes for the patient and their family are understood, agreed and enacted.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .