Better access to palliative care - worth voting for!
Better access to palliative care - worth voting for!
Monday, November 25, 2024
Palliative Care Australia's 2025 Federal Election Campaign
Each day around 400 people die of a terminal illness, yet more than three in five (62%) do not receive specialist palliative care at any stage. Current data presents a confronting picture of access to palliative care, and on our current path this will only get worse. Without action, our future is one of diminishing care for people and families living and dying with terminal illness.
This election we want to make ‘better access to palliative care’ an issue that the next government commits to, but we need your help.
The reforms to health, aged care, and disability services over the last three years are just the start – we go backwards unless the next parliament deepens and matures the progress made by investing in better access to palliative care.
Adding her voice to the campaign is the well-known actor, author, and comedian Jean Kittson. For the last 10 years she has been a carer for her mum and dad, Elaine and Roy. Sadly, Elaine (99 years) and Roy (96 years) died earlier this year, without the palliative care Jean expected to be able to access.
"Mum's death is so full of trauma, it's very distressing to live with," she says.
Palliative Care Australia and our members have created a blueprint of immediate actions the Australian Government can take, and our elected representatives can support, to improve access to palliative care. This blueprint called the '2025 Federal Election Platform' is now available for you to download, and share with your network via the link below!
We don’t have a big advertising budget, so we rely on people like you to help amplify our message. Please sign our petition, share your story, and show your support.
Jean Kittson's story
Jean has been a carer for her mum and dad, Elaine and Roy, for the last 10 years, and has also written a best-seller about the experience ‘We Need to Talk About Mum & Dad – a practical guide to parenting ageing parents.’
Jean has been a longtime advocate for palliative care and is the patron of Palliative Care Nurses Australia. Sadly, Elaine (99 years) and Roy (96 years) died earlier this year, without the palliative care Jean expected to be able to access, leaving her and her sister with deep trauma and grief from the experience.
Jean is sharing her story publicly to raise awareness, so that other families have a better chance of accessing palliative care – when and where they need it. You can watch and read Jean’s deeply emotional story below.
A big thank you to Jean for sharing her story and amplifying such an important message!
Sign the petition
If you see Australia as a compassionate community that respects the needs of those living with a terminal illness please show your support for Palliative Care Australia’s plan for ‘better access to palliative care’ and sign this petition. |
Our ageing population adds to the urgency.
Conservatively estimated, 92% of people who die in residential aged care would benefit from palliative care, yet only 3% of people living in residential aged care see a palliative medicine specialist in the first year following admission, while only a third of those entering residential aged care receive a GP health assessment or care planning within their first year. If we don’t fix this, people will continue to be admitted to hospital for care they could receive in their home, and people will continue to have limits placed on their end of life choices. |
Add your story to Jean's
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Join the conversation
“No single service can meet every need.”
Supporting families through grief doesn’t end when clinical care ends.
In this Service Story, Shelly Skinner, CEO and Founder of Lionheart Camp For Kids, reflects on how grief support is strengthened when health services partner with community organisations.
From supporting children and families in their homes to working alongside schools, workplaces and community groups, LionHeart demonstrates how collaboration helps ensure people continue to receive support long after a person’s death.
It’s a powerful example of Standard Six: Grief Support in action, reminding us that preparing families for loss also means connecting them with the right support beyond the health service.
Read the Service Story and explore Standard Six: https://tinyurl.com/Lionheart-Standard-Six
#NationalPalliativeCareStandards #CommunityOfPractice #GriefSupport #PalliativeCare #BereavementCare
People aged 50 recently received a letter from the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing about taking practical steps now to support brain health and reduce the risk of dementia in later life.
But you don’t need to be 50 to make the changes – it’s never too early or too late to reduce your risk.
For more information and to get your personalised dementia risk score, see the comments below. 👇
Australian Government expands paid prac to strengthen Medicare.
The Australian Government recently announced an expansion of the Commonwealth Prac Payment to include students training in an additional 10 key frontline health professions.
Practical placements are an essential part of many health degrees, but they can also place significant financial pressure on students who may need to reduce paid work or relocate to complete their training.
The expanded Commonwealth Prac Payment is intended to help ease these cost-of-living pressures while supporting the next generation of Australia’s health workforce.
Read more: https://bit.ly/4gl1It4
Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
🎵 What’s your final song?
Today is Dying to Know Day, a national campaign bringing Australians together to start conversations about death, dying and grief.
Last year, hundreds of Australians shared the songs that mean the most to them in response to one simple question: What’s your final song?
This year, Dying to Know is inviting Australians to add their final song to the official Dying to Know playlist on Spotify.
Share your final song and start a conversation about death, dying and grief.
Find out more: https://proveda.com.au/community-programs/dying-to-know/
Dying to Know #NowTheyKnow
📣 More time to share your ideas at APHC27OPCC! 📣
You asked, and we listened. Following requests from across the sector, the abstract submission deadline has been extended from 10 August to 20 August 2026 at 11:59 pm AEST.
We know that finding time to turn an idea into an abstract can be challenging. We hope these extra days give you the opportunity to share your work, experience and insights with the APHC27OPCC community.
If you have an idea worth sharing, now is the time.
Submit your abstract or share this opportunity with your network 👉 https://aphc27opcc.com/abstract-submission/
#Adelaide #APHC27OPCC #APHC2027 #27OPCC
Understand when and how to introduce palliative care.
As cancer treatment pathways become more complex, clinicians are navigating more nuanced conversations about uncertainty, goals of care and supportive care integration.
Timely Palliative Care: A Practical Framework is a free accredited online CPD program co-designed with oncology specialists, trainees, palliative care clinicians and consumers to support effective communication about palliative care alongside active treatment.
The self-paced course explores practical strategies for:
✔️ Navigating uncertainty
✔️ Responding to patient and family emotions
✔️ Introducing palliative care in a needs-based, patient-centred way
✔️ Supporting shared decision making.
Free online CPD for oncology and haematology specialists and trainees.
Start the free online course: https://tinyurl.com/timely-palliative-care-cpd
#PalliativeCare #Oncology #Haematology #CancerCare #MedicalEducation #CPD
