There are 47 palliative care beds in Metro North (the Health District we are in here). What is needed is 6.7 beds/100000 population. Currently Metro North population is about 900000 and growing.
4. Recommendations
1. Improved coordination of services across Queensland
1.1 The development and implementation of a state-wide service plan for
palliative care in Queensland to ensure access and high quality palliative care
service delivery based on need to all patients and families throughout
Queensland regardless of setting.
1.2 Establishment of a dedicated palliative care policy and development team
within Queensland Health’s corporate office.
1.3 Development and utilisation of an effective and efficient model for providing
palliative care including the care of children and young adults.
1.4 Mandated use of robust tools to collect data and measure patient outcomes.
2. More equitable and transparent funding including funding policy
2.1 Development and implementation of a funding model that recognises the
rising demand for palliative care services equipment and consumables.
2.2 Quarantining a specific allocation or percentage of National Partnership
Agreement sub-acute funding to palliative care.
2.3 Equitable distribution of the National Partnership Agreement subacute
funding including the allocation of $81M (25% of NPA funds) to the palliative
care sector in Queensland between 2010 and 2014.
2.4 That the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority and the National Health
Performance Authority convey clear messages about transparency in relation
to the clear purchasing intent and measurement of high quality outcome
based palliative care linked to evidence of patient and family preferred
choices.
2.5 That all service agreements between the ‘systems manager’ and the Hospital
and Health Service (HHS) contain a clear section on the need for an HHS to:
2.5.1 [b]Develop an end of life strategy for the last twelve months of life[/b] and
2.5.2 State clearly what amount of palliative care services and the quality
of palliative care services including outcomes national standards and
patient and family experience will be purchased and measured by the
‘systems manager’ in Queensland.
3. Improved access to palliative care services
3.1 24 hour community palliative care to be made available to all Queenslanders.
3.2 Greater access to specialist palliative care for patients with non-cancer
illnesses such as frailty and dementia motor neurone disease heart failure
and respiratory disease.
3.3 Improved access to specialist palliative care for regional rural and remote
patients.
3.4 Ensuring that appropriately skilled and experienced clinicians are available
when and where required.
3.5 Ensuring that all cancer and advanced disease care planning meetings in any
district have a palliative medicine physician attending.
Palliative Care Queensland
Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee June 2012
12
3.6 Improved access to palliative care for children including the development
and funding of a children’s hospice/respite facility in South East Queensland.
4. Greater support for families and carers
4.1 Improved access to counselling and bereavement support including a
designated counselling and bereavement service for children and young
adults.
4.2 Additional respite including additional respite support for the families of
children and young adults with terminal illnesses.
4.3 Funded volunteer support programs and adequate high quality training is
provided for all palliative care volunteers
4.4 Access to 24 hour support for end of life care.
5. Growing and up-skilling the palliative care workforce
5.1 Implementation of a coordinated plan to up-skill and grow the specialist
palliative care workforce and build capacity for skilled end of life care by
generalist service providers across all settings.
6. Raising awareness of palliative care and end of life issues
6.1 Development of a state-wide community awareness campaign to educate
Queenslanders about palliative care death and dying in order to promote
effective decision making at end of life.
6.2 Development of a state-wide end of life care strategy for Queensland for the
last 12 months of life.
6.3 Promote the uptake of advance care planning and Advance Health Directives
and Enduring Power of Attorney documents in Queensland.