Practice setting resources

Hospital

• The Centre to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) (US) has a project: Improving palliative care in the ICU and Improving palliative care in Emergency Medicine to increase access to palliative care services for patients and their families that move these two services.
• End-of-Life Essentials has free learning modules for health professionals that work in the acute sector. It is based on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s National Consensus Statement: Essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care.
• The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has resources to support End of -life care in the hospital. This includes an auditing toolkit, resources for end-of-life care and information for consumers.
• Rawlings D, Devery K, Tieman J, Tait P, Chakraborty A. Rapid review of the literature on end-of life care. Sydney: ACSQHC; 2021. This work informs the update of the National Consensus Statement: essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care.
• The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Factsheet: End-of-life care - last days of life focusses on specific aspects of caring in the last days of life. This includes identification of the dying person, performing clinical observations, anticipating and managing symptoms.
• The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Factsheet: End-of-life care - clinical basics. This factsheet provides a table of possible symptoms at end of life and management strategies that are the foundation of clinical end of life care.
• The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Factsheet: End-of-life care -planning provides information around individualised care planning through shared decision making and the identification of a care coordinator.

Paediatrics

• The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne has a Palliative Care section on their website. This section provides information, advice and support to ensure best possible palliative care.
• From Palliative Care Australia a website - Paediatric Palliative Care provides practical information about paediatric palliative care. There is a carer section and a health professional section.
• The Quality of Care Collaborative Australia (QuoCCA) project delivers paediatric palliative care education to health professionals. They also provide resources for paediatric palliative care services and offer patient carer information.
• The West Midlands Children and Young People’s Paediatric Palliative Care Network (UK): provides a toolkit to support families by equipping staff with resources that facilitate best practice, timely care.
• WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network: Paediatric and adolescent palliative care model of care (2009) (394kb pdf) highlights the differences between palliative care for adults, children and adolescents. They address the current gaps in service provision in their Model of Care.
• The International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) has published The ICPCN guide to children’s hospice and palliative care partnerships (3.65MB pdf) to encourage links between people working in this field around the world.

Adolescents

• The Youth cancer website (from Canteen) has information and resources for young people with cancer and their families. They support young people to access the best, age-appropriate cancer care and support.
• ONTrac at PeterMac – Victorian Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Service provide clinical services for young people.
• The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care User Guide for Acute and Community Health Service Organisations that Provide Care for Children identifies strategies for health service organisations to implement from the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.
• Clinical Oncology Society of Australia: Psychosocial management of AYAs diagnosed with cancer: Guidance for health professionals gives an overview and practice points relating to the needs and wishes of the young person and support form family, friends and health professionals.
• WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network: Paediatric and adolescent palliative care model of care (2009) (394kb pdf). highlights the differences between palliative care for adults, children and adolescents. They address the current gaps in service provision in their Model of Care.

Neonates

• Safer Care Victoria website provides guidance on Palliative (end of life) neonatal care gives advice around many aspects of care, including anticipatory discussions, care of the newborn, medication and family support.
• The WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network: Perinatal Palliative Care Model of Care (2015) (1.51MB pdf) provides a Model with pathways for referral and entry of the foetus/newborn and their family onto a palliative care approach.

Primary care / Community

• The Advance Project website offers online education in palliative care for GPs, practice nurses, and practice managers.
• The Australian Government Commonwealth Home Support Programme helps people over 65 years to access support services to stay safe and independent at home.
• The Gold Standards Framework (GSF) in the UK is a systematic approach to optimising the care for patients nearing the end of life delivered by generalist providers. They offer training to frontline staff in caring for people in the last years of life.
• The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) aged care clinical guide (Silver Book) - Part A Palliative and end-of-life care has resources for GP’s relating to the general principles of palliative care, their role and in practice information.
• The Department of Health and Aged Care website has information on each of the Primary Healthcare Networks (PHNs).
• The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has a position statement on Nursing and Midwifery in General Practice (255kb pdf) as well as other Policies, guidelines and position statements that may be of interest. For example, care of the person with a life limiting illness, digital health, clinical supervision for nurses and midwives and voluntary assisted dying.
• Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme of Queensland provides assistance with equipment for palliative care in the home, speak with clients about this program or similar in your state. Share the list of equipment (199kb pdf) provided by Queensland Health to discuss what might help.
• From Western Australia Palliative Care: Palliative Caring – Information for families and carers who are caring for a person with a life-limiting illness or condition (1.68MB pdf) is a booklet that explains what caring involves and references a range of resources that that can support carers.