Palliative care conversation
October 11, 2012
AUSTRALIA needs to have a
nationwide conversation about
palliative care, according to the
results of the latest Senate Inquiry
into Palliative Care in Australia.
The Community Affairs Reference
Committee, which undertook the
Inquiry, heard 138 submissions and
23 oral accounts from individuals
and organisations, and described
the evidence as, at times,
“harrowing” but always
“ennobling”.
All up the Committee made 38
recommendations on areas
including palliative care funding,
education for health professionals,
education for the community, the
need for improved access to
information about services and
supporting people to die in the
place of their choice.
The recommendations also took
into consideration the needs of
specific groups such as Indigenous
Australians and children.
Recommendations included the
implementation of a national
standard linked to accreditation;
the extraction of palliative care
from the sub-acute care category
and the creation of a new funding
category of ‘palliative care’; as well
as the establishment of a palliative
care advisory committee by the
Independent Hospital Pricing
Authority to advise the Authority
on appropriate costing for palliative
care services consistent with the
activity-based funding approach.
Other recommendations included
the development and introduction
of consistent national data
collection specifically provided for
the recording and reporting of
palliative care data; and that the
government, with the assistance of
the Council of Australian
Governments, take steps to
improve the provision and
timeliness of information to
palliative care patients, their carers
and families.
The report has been welcomed by
industry bodies including Palliative
Care Australia, which said ‘There is
no doubt that the Senate received
a clear message from the sector
about what needs to be done to
improve palliative care in this
country”.
To view the report CLICK HERE.
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