NPCW 2023 – ‘Matters of Life and Death’
Palliative Care Matters of Life and Death.
National Palliative Care Week will be from Sunday 21 May thru to Saturday 27 May. The aim this year is to put ‘Matters of Life and Death’ front and centre in Australia’s consciousness. Camilla Rowland, Chief Executive Officer at Palliative Care Australia (PCA) says, “We understand that death and dying is a difficult subject to talk about and engage with, but this year we have some powerful voices joining the campaign to inspire and start important conversations.”
Death is one thing we can be sure that we can’t avoid in life. It is very hard for many of us to talk about it.
Palliative Care assists patients and their families to talk about death and to receive the best possible end of life care focussed on their preferences, values, dignity and comfort, respecting that quality of life matters most.
To die well means to live well. We can take away the fear of death by talking about it. We can let our family and friends know our wishes; plan for it as we plan for other major events in our life.
As during Palliative Care Week, why not start the conversation with those who care for you now and they will help to ensure that your choices are respected?
Did you know?
End of Life or Palliative Care
- can be provided at home (most people prefer to die at home), in hospital, in a hospice, in a residential aged care facility or anywhere else that someone has chosen to die (within reason)
- is for people of any age who have been told that they have a serious illness that cannot be cured.
- assists people with illnesses such as cancer, motor neurone disease and end-stage kidney or lung disease to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
- may be beneficial from the time of diagnosis with a serious life-limiting illness.
End of Life or Palliative care can
- optimise the quality of life for a person who is expected to die
- help people live their life as fully and as comfortably as possible, for as long as possible
- be person and family-centred
- identifies and treats symptoms which may be physical, emotional, spiritual or social
- ensure quality, coordinated health care, where increased services and support are essential
- extend to bereavement care.
Because palliative care is based on individual needs, services offered will differ, they may include:
- Pain relief and other symptom management e.g. vomiting, shortness of breath
- Equipment to aid care at home
- Family assistance to talk about sensitive issues
- Links to other services such as home help and financial support
- Referrals to respite care services
- Support for people to meet cultural meanings
- Support for emotional, social and spiritual concerns
- Counselling and grief support.
In the Grampians region your local end of life or palliative care specialist teams are:
- Ballarat Hospice Care Inc.
- Central Grampians Palliative Care
- Bacchus Marsh Community Palliative Care Service
- Gandarra Palliative Care Unit
- Grampians Regional Palliative Care Team
- Wimmera Palliative Care Service
