Health professionals

Cultural wishes respected in end-of-life care

24 June 2021

My parents were born in Naples, in the south of Italy. After my mum passed away in 2013 in Italy, my dad lived in Sydney with my brother Joe. A couple of years ago, at 87 years of age, dad started complaining of […]
Palliative care at home in the bush

3 June 2021

If given the choice, most Australians with a life-limiting illness would prefer to be cared for, and to die at home. For people living in rural and remote locations, where a medical appointment may be […]
Marc’s Story – His journey with Lissencephaly

31 March 2021

When Marc was born on January 8th, 2012, he was a perfectly healthy newborn baby boy with blonde hair and big blue eyes… and a lifetime of adventures before him. The first few months of […]
Talking about end-of-life care in ICU

25 March 2021

As the Australian populations ages, more Australians get admitted to hospital with increasingly complex needs. Many of these patients will sadly die after hospital admission. Whether they reach the end of their life in ICU, […]
A nurse who laid the foundation for 40 years of palliative care in Australia

14 January 2021

Katherine Kingsbury, OAM, Inaugural Director of Nursing, City Mission Hospice, North Fitzroy Eighty-seven-year-old Katherine Kingsbury has dedicated her life to caring and advocating for the sick and dying. Throughout her long nursing career, Katherine has […]
“Nurse practitioners in aged care are the future”

11 November 2020

When Keyur Anand studied to be a nurse practitioner, his peers believed he would achieve ‘something special’. His initial choice would have probably been to work in a hospital setting, but circumstances brought him to […]
Research project to evaluate impact of handover bags: A 10-minute survey

10 September 2020

Have you ever wondered what happens to a loved one’s possessions when they die in hospital, hospice or residential aged care facility? Often, their objects are returned to families in any available plastic bag, sometimes […]
Hoping for the best and planning for the rest

4 June 2020

It was not Zoe Mitchell’s plan to become a palliative care social worker, but sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways. Earlier in her career as a social worker, Zoe was looking for a role […]
Keeping a library open through the window

21 May 2020

Maurie Voisey-Barlin speaks with a soft, yet very warm voice full of expression and joy. However, because of the current visitor restrictions due to COVID-19, his “elders”, as he calls them, cannot hear him anymore. […]
Collaboration in a time of stress and uncertainty

7 May 2020

In the face of the COVID19 pandemic, Australia’s testing and distancing strategies have minimised disease spread. However, at the same time, our health systems have been engaged in preparing for an alternative, far worse scenario […]