Media Releases
$4.5 million for palliative care programs
Support for people choosing to die at home will be enhanced by funding of more than $4.5 million (part of a $55 million Federal Government commitment) for a range of community programs announced by the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson.
$4.5 million for palliative care programs
Support for people choosing to die at home will be enhanced by funding of more than $4.5 million - part of a $55 million Federal Government commitment - for a range of community programs announced today by the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson.
The Caring Communities Program aims to improve the quality of palliative care in the community by assisting families, carers and health service providers to give better support to people who are dying.
Senator Patterson said: "People who are dying need quality care, and it needs to be available in a setting of their own choice.
"Whether this is at home, or using a combination of home care and community services, the Caring Communities Program will help ensure better access to high level care."
Senator Patterson said the program would provide further information to communities about what palliative care is and where to go for help.
"This is a great opportunity for communities to work together to support families, carers and volunteers who play such a vital role in this environment," she said.
"It will also provide educational opportunities for health professionals, key community agencies, and the residential aged care workforce and build capacity in remote Aboriginal communities to care for their families in a culturally appropriate, comfortable and supportive environment.
"Further counselling and bereavement services will also be available in some areas and opportunities will be provided for end-of-life planning for those who are dying.
"The long-term effect will be stronger partnerships between palliative care service providers, other health service providers and the general community to provide the best possible care."
For information on the Caring Communities Program visit www.pallcare.org.au
List of successful applicants for each state and territory under the Caring Communities Program
| State/Territory | Name of Project | Organisation | Amount of funding |
| NSW | Motor Neurone Disease Volunteer Visitor Pilot Program | MND Association of NSW | $73,000 |
| Study to predict home death | Central Sydney Area Health Service Palliative Care Service | $135,000 | |
| Helping communities care: volunteer and bereavement support networks | Mid-Western Area Health Service | 180,000 | |
| Kids Grief: a handbook for group | National Centre for Childhood Grief Aust Ltd | $90,000 | |
| Palliative care education utilising interactive satellite television technology | Anglican Retirement Villages | $90,000 | |
| Home hospice enhancement | Home Hospice Inc | $73,400 | |
| Supporting and educating carers in palliative care | Carers NSW | $145,634 | |
| Developing linkages between an Indigenous population and a palliative care service | Wentworth Area Health Service | $58,000 | |
| Palliative care dementia interface: enhancing community capacity | University of Western Sydney | $176,000 | |
| QLD | An educational strategy to increase the palliative care capacity of primary health care providers working in rural and remote areas of Queensland | General Practice Education | Australia $113,620 |
| Volunteer Palliative Care Support Network Initiative | Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Qld) - Blue Care Brisbane Central Region | $154,900 | |
| Bundaberg Palliative Access Link (PAL) Project | Wide Bay Division of General Practice Association Inc | $59,700 | |
| Community Bereavement Support Service Children, Adolescents and the Families | Mt Olivet Community Services | $199,930 | |
| SEAM: A support, education, assessment and monitoring service for regional and rural people | GP Connections | $157,418 | |
| VIC | Improving consumer and health professional access to comprehensive, accessible, user-friendly evidence-based online information | La Trobe University | $180,151 |
| Building rural community capacity through volunteering | Wangaratta and District Base Hospital | $183,942 | |
| Living and Dying in Style | South Western Health Care | $199,974 | |
| Best Practice Support Model for Terminal Illness in the Workplace | Palliative Care Victoria | $191,761 | |
| Experiential Palliative Care Program for General Practitioners | Morning Peninsula Division of General Practice | $150,087 | |
| NT | Greater Darwin Palliative Care Volunteer Support Project | NT Carers Association Inc | $95,300 |
| Visiting Specialist Program | Central Australian Division of Primary Health Care Inc | $30,000 | |
| Northern Care Frontier Services | Northern Care | $200,000 | |
| Groote Palliative Care Support Service | Anglicare Top End | $50,000 | |
| WA | Fitzroy Valley Palliative Care Service | Nindilingarri Cultural Health Service Inc | $57,890 |
| Accessing Palliative Care in the Kimberley's Remote Aboriginal Communities | Kimberley Health Region WA | $64,000 | |
| Kalgoorlie-Boulder Palliative Care Coordination Project | Silver Chain Nursing Association Inc. | $198,966 | |
| Learn Now, Live Well: An Educational Program For Patients And Care-Givers Living With And Affected By Life Threatening Illness | Ramsay Healthcare Australia Pty Ltd trading as Hollywood Private Hospital | $162,870 | |
| South West Perth Collaborative Community Palliative Care Project | Murdoch Community Hospice Inc. | $130,000 | |
| SA | Partnering with rural communities to improve access and education in palliative care | School of Nursing and Rural Health, University of South Australia, Whyalla Campus | $155,000 |
| Kangaroo Island palliative care project | Kangaroo Island Health Service | $55,000 | |
| Shared bereavement care in the west | Western Palliative Care Service | $199,084 | |
| Establishing the care-worker role in palliative care-education, support and integration with palliative care teams | Royal District Nursing Service of SA | $199,273 | |
| TAS | Palliative care - empowering the Southern Midlands community through information and integration Midlands Multi-Purpose Health Centre | Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) | $68,380 |
| Collaborative Palliative Care in Rural Communities | Tasmanian Palliative Care Service, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) | $200,000 | |
| ACT | Education Link - PC | Carers ACT | $50,000 |
| Enhancing Community Understanding of Palliative Care | ACT Hospice Palliative Care Society Inc | $66,878 | |
| Shared Understandings Improving Palliative Care for People with Dementia | Alzheimer's Australia ACT | $119,122 |
Media inquiries, contact Randal Markey, Media Adviser, Senator Patterson's office, 02 6277 7220.
