Palliative care focuses on enhancing the quality of life for individuals facing life-limiting illnesses, regardless of their specific condition. The goal of palliative care is to empower patients to live as fully as possible during their illness journey.

National Palliative Care Week (NPCW), held from May 19 to May 25, 2024, is Australia’s largest annual initiative to raise awareness about palliative care. It aims to increase understanding of palliative care services and recognise the dedication of the palliative care workforce and volunteers.

At Northern Health, our multidisciplinary palliative care staff collaborates to provide high-quality healthcare and support to those living with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Our teams include the Palliative Care Unit and Palliative Care Consult teams.

Research plays a crucial role in improving palliative care. It informs best practices, clinical decision-making, and the development of new treatments and services. Northern Health clinicians are currently involved in two studies funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to enhance end-of-life care for older people.

The first is IMPART (Improving Palliative Care in Residential Aged Care using Telehealth). Dr Penny Harvey, Geriatrician and A/Prof Barbara Hayes, Advance Care Planning Clinical Lead and Palliative Care Consultant, are both investigators on this study, which is a multi-site Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial.

The study is led by Prof Kwang Lim, Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) and the National Ageing Research Institute and involves 10 aged care facilities within the catchments of RMH, Austin Health, and Northern Health.

The study aims to improve end-of-life care by providing online learning modules for staff, covering various aspects of caring for dying patients, including the use of Residential Aged Care Goals of Care Forms (developed by Northern Health). The primary outcome measure is the use of acute hospital services during the trial period. Consumer and staff feedback is collected via surveys and structured interviews.

The second is CELPI, (Carer End of Life Planning Intervention ). This multi-state randomised controlled trial focuses on people dying with dementia. Associate Professor Barbara Hayes is an Investigator for Victoria, and Ms. Bernadette Sweeney serves as the Intervention Clinician. The study promotes knowledge about palliative care, advance care planning, and carer support resources. The primary outcome measure is acute hospital use during the trial period.

Apart from NHMRC-funded studies, the Northern Health Palliative Care team conducts hospital-based research directly related to our patient cohort. These efforts, led by Associate Professor Jaclyn Yoong, Medical Oncologist and Palliative Care Physician, provide valuable insights applicable to the broader community.

Some examples are, palliative care service delivery e.g. in heart failure and progressive neurological disease, health economic analysis of the Palliative Care Unit relocation, and the impact of visitor restrictions on palliative care inpatients’ wellbeing.

“Congratulations and thank you to everyone for working so hard to improve care at the endof life throughout our community and for exploring how we can meet the needs of a growing and ageing population,” says Dr Alison Giles, Head of Palliative Care.

Information about the Northern Health Palliative Care service, as well as resources for clinicians caring for patients with palliative care needs, is available on the Northern Health intranet.

Main image shows the team at the Palliative Care Ward at Northern Hospital Epping, wearing the orange heart, a symbol of ‘always being there’- values that connect with palliative care.