Palliative Care
Commonly asked questions about What is Palliative Care?
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Palliative care is care that helps people live their life as fully and comfortably as possible when living with a life-limiting or terminal illness. Palliative care may continue for an extended period of time and aims to support physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs.
This care is given in our Care Communities by our clinical care team supported by a general practitioner or a specialist multi-disciplinary Palliative Care Team who work together to meet your physical and emotional needs.
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Talking about end-of-life and palliative care can be difficult but starting the conversation early is important. Advance Care Planning involves thinking about, discussing and documenting the type of care you would like to receive as you approach the later stages of life. We’ll support you and your family in these discussions and ensure that your wishes are clearly understood.
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We believe care should be deeply personal and tailored to meet our residents’ physical and emotional needs. When you decide on a care plan early, you’ll help to ensure your loved one’s wishes are clearly understood so that they live well right to the end of their life.
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End-of-life care is the care provided in the last few hours, days or weeks of life.
Palliative care and end-of-life care can be provided in our Care Communities by our clinical care team supported by a general practitioner or a specialist multi-disciplinary Palliative Care Team who work together to meet your physical and emotional needs.
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Our team at Norah Head Care Community went above and beyond to support one of our residents Norma and her family with end-of-life care, tailoring a care plan that respected Norma and her family’s wishes.
In Norma’s final days, her room was dimly lit to create a soothing environment. As per Norma’s request, our team played her favourite music; and in her moments of awareness, she would sing along, joined by everyone present in the room. Just as Norma wished, her daughter was by her side as she peacefully passed away. Our team did a wonderful job in making sure Norma’s last moments were full of love, laughter and absolute joy.
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Yes. In our Palliative Care Program we're delivering initiatives centred around three strategic areas to ensure our residents have access to high quality palliative and end-of-life care.
This includes:
- Palliative Care education and training of our team with a series of one hour or one day programs.
- Implementing a Champion model in which team members are selected to be a Palliative Care Champion, and help to improve palliative care practices in their Care Community and embed those as “business as usual.”
- Proactive discussions with specialist Palliative Care Services in which our Care Community leaders discuss improvement work and the type of work that can be done together.
Long-term Residential
When you move into one of our Care Communities we strive to help you feel at home every day. Each one of our homes is fully accredited by the Australian Aged Care Quality Commission and has a registered nurse on every shift, every day and night.
Learn more about residentialRespite
We understand that everyone caring for someone needs a break at times.
We provide short and longer-term respite care, including Day Respite, to give carers some flexibility to attend to personal needs and commitments.
Learn more about RespiteWellness and Reablement
We care deeply about bringing positivity and possibility into our elders’ lives. Our Wellness Centres promote rehabilitation and reablement, offering evidence-based treatment programs and individualised services to improve independence, quality of life and emotional and physical well-being.
Learn more about reablementDementia care
Every individual living with dementia will have different needs and preferences. Our carers endeavour to build connected relationships with each resident so that we can deliver the right care for your clinical, social and spiritual needs.
Learn more5 Steps into Residential Aged Care
Assess
Make sure the person requiring care has had an ACAT assessment.
Find
Search for a residential aged care home suitability located.
Costs
Understand the costs associated with aged care.
Apply
Ensure you have all the relevant paperwork.
Move
Check out our moving checklist to ensure the smoothest move possible.