HammondCare looks to expand palliative care
Christian Not For Profit aged care provider HammondCare will advocate for better palliative care for all Australians under a new five-year strategy.
With 75 per cent of Australians missing out on palliative care – and only six per cent of aged care residents able to access end-of-life care – HammondCare CEO Mike Baird (pictured speaking) has described a “postcode lottery”, with rural and remote areas receiving only a quarter of the services available in cities.
According to HammondCare, its strategy involves four main goals:
- enabling people to die with dignity;
- improving palliative care access for vulnerable communities;
- improving knowledge, skill and confidence in palliative care for the workforce and community; and
- leading the health and aged care sector in palliative care and research.
People with life-limiting illnesses in its residential aged care homes will receive end-of-life support to keep them out of hospitals, while dying home care package customers will receive more end-of-life support and resources to allow them to be cared for in their own homes; additionally, HammondCare is looking to develop tools to help alleviate suffering in dementia patients who are unable to express pain.