Palliative Care – Next Steps A Palliative Care Workshop held in Yamba in May was the important starting point for North Coast Medicare Local (NCML) to encourage collaboration and improve the palliative care journey for North Coast patients and their families. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin and NCML and around 70 participants attended the day-long gathering. It was the first time such a meeting had been held and participants included volunteers, clients, carers, clinicians, community health, allied health, RACF, hospitals and specialists. Overall the mood of those present was optimistic, with a will to work together to improve the provision of palliative care. In late July the first meeting of the North Coast Palliative Care Steering Committee took place and some of the actions planned arising from the Yamba workshop
include the following: Establishing a Tweed, Richmond, Clarence Palliative Care Forum Establishing steering and reference groups Continuing to build skills and confidence in GP teams in order to be clinical leads in multidisciplinary/multiagency care Identifying needs and working collaboratively to establish professional development for general practice and others in palliative care Educating families, carers and NGOs. Devising ongoing methods of education for non-clinicians Providing greater specialist advice to residential aged care facilities (RACFs) Educating nurses in RACFs (about palliative care and Advance Care Directives,
such as MyChoice – a comprehensive manual on Advance Care Directives developed by Northern Rivers GP Network. Improved information flow between clinicians and agencies and prioritising Patient Controlled Electronic Health Records for Palliative Care Providers Use of Telehealth to increase efficiency of consultation role of specialist palliative care staff. Applying for Commonwealth Grant funding The first meeting of the Palliative Care Steering Group will be held soon and a second Palliative Care Forum is scheduled for November. A similar structure will be established in the southern part of the NCML footprint. Anyone wishing to add their name to the Palliative Care mailing list, should email: media@ncml.org.au
National Services Directory Medicare Locals have played a big role in developing the National Health Services Directory, now available online. This resource is the first truly national directory of General Practice, Pharmacy, Hospital and Emergency Department services - with contact details and opening hours. The Directory is on the internet (www.nhsd. com.au) and available for mobile access (m.nhsd. com.au). The Directory will be expanded to include much more primary care and allied health information, greater detail within services listings, an Endpoint Location Service (to help with secure clinical messaging) and the inclusion of telehealth and child wellness information.
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HealthSpeak
spring 2012
02 6681 9900 7