Palliative care an ever-changing role

Wimmera Health Care Group leaders are encouraging people to spark important conversations about the benefits of quality palliative care while celebrating palliative-care workers.

National Palliative Care Week started on Monday and this year’s theme is ‘Palliative care… it’s more than you think’.

Palliative-care workers help people with life-limiting illnesses to live as well as possible, for as long as possible, supporting their physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs.

Wimmera Palliative Care services Hindmarsh, Horsham, West Wimmera and Yarriambiack municipalities, covering 37,000 square kilometres.

The community palliativecare service supports patients at home, in aged-care centres and while in hospital.

The team includes Wimmera Health Care Group nurse practitioner Maire Coffey and registered nurses Jenny Ellis, Sharyn Meyer, Zoe Frew, Jody Membrey and Catherine Finlay.

Ms Coffey said the team had altered its service delivery in line with COVID-19 restrictions.

“We’ve been unable to review patients in other facilities or hospitals and only through urgent visits at home,” she said.

“To do this we have had the benefit of Sharyn Cook and Nicole Miller joining our team to ensure we can still support as many people as possible.”

The Wimmera Palliative Care team works with a patient’s doctors, nurses and allied health care team to provide care.

Members can also co-ordinate specialist consultation for patients with the palliative-care doctors and nurse practitioners from Grampians Regional Palliative Care Team.

Mrs Meyer said team members were using National Palliative Care Week to reflect on the ever-changing role they fulfilled while caring for their community.

“We are often humbled by the privilege we have when families open up their lives and allow us to be involved at such a personal and challenging time,” she said.

“We find ourselves constantly amazed at the resilience of patients, families and carers as they navigate through one of the most difficult times in their lives.

“We hope people will consider palliative care being not only about death, but living as well as you can with a terminal illness.”