Sector news

RePaDD hosted a national roundtable exploring how the aged care sector can better support people with palliative and end-of-life care needs during a period of significant reform. This summary resource outlines key themes and priorities identified through those discussions, including the need to build workforce capability, recognise the vital role of allied health, support older people to live and die at home where possible, and strengthen coordination between primary, acute, and aged care

The Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying (RePaDD) works to make a positive difference to the care of persons in palliative care and at the end of life. This downloadable 2-page summary shares insights from a national roundtable hosted by RePaDD that explored what unpaid carers need when end-of-life and palliative care are part of caring (496kb pdf).

Palliative Care Australia has launched a new tool developed to support health professionals in identifying the right time to refer children, young people, and their families to paediatric palliative care. Paediatric palliative care works best when introduced at the earliest appropriate time and alongside existing care. Timely referral allows children, young people, and their families to access vital support throughout their care journey.

The Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare has developed the Medication Management at Transitions of Care Stewardship Framework. Medication management at transitions of care is a period of high risk for medication errors and miscommunication, which can lead to harm. More than 50% of medication errors occur at transition of care. This stewardship framework seeks to reduce risks of harm associated with transitions of care.

Healthdirect Australia is inviting people from across the community to join their Consumer Engagement Group. Their goal is to help every Australian stay healthy with access to trustworthy health advice, information and connection to care. The best way to achieve this is to design services alongside the people who need and use them. When community representatives share their experiences, insights and ideas, they help Healthdirect create services that are more accessible and easier to use for all Australians.

You have the opportunity to contribute to Health Direct’s services by sharing your perspective and you will be reimbursed for your time.

GPs play a pivotal role in caring for patients who wish to die at home and their families. To support GPs in increasing their confidence in delivering community-based palliative care, caring@home has developed two new, free education activities - End-of-life planning mini audit and FastTrack CPD.