Page 5041 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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I think it has been important to consider the future of palliative care services as part and parcel of our intentions for health care more generally in north Canberra. To nail down our thinking on palliative care options too far in advance of our thinking on other north side health services would not have the most sensible outcomes, as I am sure many would agree.
We are conscious that demand for palliative care services is growing generally in line with demographic changes in our community. In recent years, the government has been dedicating additional funding to the palliative care sector in recognition of this growing demand. We are also aware that a growing number of Canberrans in need of palliation in the final months or weeks of their lives would prefer to receive that care at home rather than in a healthcare facility. That is something that many people in the community talk to me about—the desire that they are able to pass away at home with family and friends close by. But everybody who has witnessed somebody in the last couple of days of their life understands just how confronting that can be for loved ones and that the extra assistance from healthcare professionals is gratefully received. The trends in overall demand and in the growing demand for palliative care at home are both compelling reasons to take a fresh look at how we deliver palliative care services, as the period covered by the current strategy draws to a close.
The Canberra community is currently served by a range of primary and specialist palliative care services, as well as by some wonderful community-based services. Specialist palliative care services are currently provided through the ACT’s dedicated 19-bed hospice at Clare Holland House and through the home-based palliative care which provides an outreach service at people’s homes. Both of these services are managed by Calvary Health Care. Additional specialist palliative care services are provided by the Canberra Hospital through Capital Region Cancer Service. In addition, the government funds the ACT Palliative Care Society to provide professionally trained palliative care volunteers to assist and support people with a life-limiting illness and their carers, whether in the hospice, at home, or in residential aged-care facilities.
The Health Directorate has always had a very productive relationship with the ACT Palliative Care Society and works closely with the organisation to ensure that they have adequate support for their highly regarded program. In 2009 additional funding was provided to expand the volunteer program into residential aged-care facilities. There are a number of other non-government organisations which are supported by the ACT community through the ACT government. These are Carers ACT, Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Services, the Cancer Council and the Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group. Each of these groups provides services to palliative care clients and carers in the community.
The Health Directorate is also currently planning for a commonwealth-funded six-bed palliative care service which will probably be established within a residential aged-care facility. This new facility will provide specialist palliative care services for patients transitioning from an acute setting to home or patients needing a subacute facility admission from home. These beds are anticipated to be operational in 2012 and will complement the respite options available through existing services.
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