Decision Assist – Palliative care and advance care planning for aged care

This presentation will outline the comprehensive components of the Decision Assist program with special reference to how the needs of those who are ageing in a foreign land are being recognised. Decision Assist is overseen by a consortium of key participants bringing together a sector cross-section, including Austin Health; Aged and Community Services Australia, Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine ; Flinders University ; Leading Age Services Australia ; Palliative Care Australia, Queensland University of Technology, and the University of Queensland. Decision Assist is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia.
Decision Assist has five key components:

• Two telephone advice line, one a 24/7 specialist palliative care advice line, the other a 8am-8pm/7 day advance care planning advice line;
• A comprehensive web site, www.decisionassist.org.au, which contains clinical guidance documents, a national services directory for specialist palliative care services, resource materials for training courses, and a companion Smartphone app is being developed;
• Specific needs information looks at evidence and resources for grous tha reflect the diversity of Australia's population including information on culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups;
• Targeted specialist palliative care and advance care planning training workshops for residential and home care providers that are free and CPD eligible;
• A suite of linkages projects designed to bring together different service providers in the sector to synthesize efficient and effective outcomes through collaboration and resource sharing; and
• General practitioner training for advance care planning, and educational opportunities and resources for palliative care.

This comprehensive and complementary set of products are integrated and interactive and specifically designed and targeted to aged care provider staff and general practitioners operating in the sector. The Decision Assist project was developed to pursue opportunities for better care planning and palliative support for older Australians and identifies those two major areas where more activity and support can greatly enhance quality of life.

Decision Assist - Palliative care and advance care planning for aged care (1.05MB pdf).