National Palliative Care week aims to raise awareness and improve access to palliative care services. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge the General Practitioners, Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Allied Health professionals, specialist Palliative Care services, and the volunteers and carers who are critical in delivering exceptional care and optimising quality of life for people of all ages living with a life-limiting illness. 

SEMPHN is proud to be participating in the Greater Choice for At Home Palliative Care project funded by the Australian Department of Health. We are collaborating with public and private providers including GPs and Residential Aged Care Homes (RACH) to improve access to safe and quality palliative care. 

Below are some of the services and resources available to assist health professionals deliver improved palliative care.

Community Palliative Care Service Visits for General Practice 

SEMPHN has partnered with the Southern Metropolitan Region Palliative Care Consortium (SMRPCC) to offer General Practices the opportunity to connect with local community based palliative care providers. Click here to learn more. 

Practices can request a visit from a community palliative care team member to provide information, education, and help improve understanding and access to community palliative care services. 

Visit the SEMPHN Palliative Care page HERE to learn how to apply. 

Palliative Care Access to Core Medicines (PCAM) Project 

The Palliative Care Access to Core Medicines (PCAM) project provides a localised palliative Core Medicine List (CML) for end-of-life care. Working with Pharmaceutical Society Australia and our fellow Melbourne metro PHNs, we now have all of Greater Melbourne covered with Pharmacies that stock these important medicines. Informed by evidence-based practices and palliative providers' input, the CML enhances access to palliative care medicines when needed most. We anticipate this resource will significantly improve accessibility to essential medicines.

Visit our PCAM page for a complete Core Medicines List (CML) and the map identifying the location of participating local community pharmacies in south east Melbourne. 

Advance Care Planning 

Advance care planning is the process of planning for someone's future health care and the care they would (or would not) like to receive in the event of serious illness, when they are unable to communicate their preferences, or at the end of their life. Visit our Advanced Care Planning page for resources and services that can help you with this important process. 

What’s next? 

SEMPHN is launching a general practice in-reach Advanced Care Planning education and upskilling program in partnership with three local Health Network ACP teams over the next few months.   

We encourage you to visit our Palliative Care page and palliativecare.org.au for further information and resources to support health professionals in having conversations about #MattersOfLifeAndDeath.