Project Overview: The National Palliative Care Coordination (NPCC) Project aims to enhance the capacity and capability of general practice in identifying palliative care needs and ensuring timely, needs-based referrals to specialist palliative care services. Funded by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing through a palliative care innovation grant, this initiative seeks to address gaps in palliative care access, particularly for individuals with life-limiting illnesses beyond cancer.

Background and Rationale: Currently, a significant proportion of specialist palliative care referrals (≈70%) originate from acute hospitals, with only 15% initiated by GPs. This results in unmet care needs, increased hospitalisations, and limited access for non-cancer patients requiring palliative care support. The NPCC Project seeks to bridge this gap by equipping general practice GPs and practice staff with evidence-based screening tools, and referral pathways to improve patient outcomes.

Expected Outcomes: The NPCC project aims to:

• Develop a refined needs assessment and decision aid process, with recommendations for national rollout.
• Improve early identification of palliative care needs in primary care settings.
• Identify key personal, interpersonal, and system supports for administering clinical protocols.
• Provide evidence on optimal timing for initiating palliative care and referring to specialist palliative care, using patient-reported outcomes and tracking changes in care pathways.

For more information, please visit the website.