Better Palliative Care in Aged Care Is the Goal, and Australia Got It

Here's some good news!

In 2017, six major healthcare bodies in Australia collaborated and released new guiding principles for palliative care services. These organisations were Aged & Community Services Australia, Alzheimer's Australia, Catholic Health Australia, COTA Australia, Leading Aged Services Australia, and Palliative Care Australia.

According to a post on palliativecare.org.au, these principles help recognise when a resident in aged care is approaching their end of life and what needs to be done to meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Ian Yates, CEO of COTA Australia said that there's still a lot of work to be done to ensure that "palliative care in all forms of aged care" is properly and equitably supported.

The kind of care that palliative care Point Lonsdale facility offers its residents must be the same with what the palliative care Ocean Grove facility provides.

This can be done by following the 8 new guiding principles of palliative care services that aged care Ocean Grove or Point Lonsdale facilities must adopt.

According to the published document from Palliative Care Australia, the guiding principles include:

End-of-life physical and mental needs must be assessed and recognised.

Decisions and plans made for palliative care must involve seniors, and their families and carers.

Aged care facilities like the aged care Ocean Grove has must provide end-of-life care in a manner that is timely and equitable.

Seniors and their families and carers must be given the dignity and respect due them. Services for respite care Barwon Heads has must go hand in hand with end-of-life care.

Staff must be trained and equipped with the skills necessary to deliver holistic and integrated palliative care.

It must be standard in every facility that a senior's cultural, psychosocial, and spiritual needs are respected.

Increased Funding for Palliative Care in Aged Care

The Australian government is also stepping up to improve the aged palliative care services. In May of this year, the Department of Health posted on their website that the government will increase funding for aged care by $5 billion over five years.

According to the announcement, this move will "strengthen national efforts to improve access to quality palliative care as a key component of an integrated health-aged care system."

It will also improve palliative and end-of-life coordination and support new approaches to how the states and territories deliver care.

The report cited that a problem of many Australians who are requiring palliative care and living in residential aged care is having to transfer in and out of hospitals when they are nearing their end. By providing early access to palliative care in aged care facilities, that problem can be addressed.

More Options

As the government and influential bodies for palliative care and aged care take steps forward to improve healthcare and end-of-life care services, Australians gain better access to the support and services they need to have a peaceful and dignified death.

They have more options in deciding how and where to live their final moments and can better allocate limited healthcare funds. This will reduce the distress for older Australians who are nearing their end of life and are living in aged care facilities, as well as for their families and carers.