The need for good palliative care

12 May 2021

Why is palliative care so important?

The phrase ‘dying a good death’, can be quite jarring to hear. However, death is one of the certainties in life and something that we should all discuss openly.

VMCH Clinical Manager Naomi Lewis is responsible for improving service provision in residential aged care, including palliative and end of life care. Naomi says that good palliative care should be consultative, with involvement from the resident, their loved ones and specialist services (when required) while ensuring specific cultural, emotional and spiritual needs are respected.

“Good palliative care ensures that residents maintain a quality of life when they are faced with a life-threatening illness. It is about preventing suffering and pain and ensuring that a resident and their loved one’s preferences for what they want at their end of life are respected and upheld.

“As a Catholic-based organisation we pride ourselves on providing quality palliative care and ensuring that residents and their families are supported and their wishes respected as they enter their end of life journey.”

Naomi says that palliative care at VMCH is resident-centred and all the staff have a role to play in the delivery of high-quality care services.

“This includes everyone, from our nursing staff through to our Pastoral Care team. We are so fortunate to have a Pastoral Care team who are available to provide emotional and spiritual support to residents and families at the end of life phase.”

So, what can residents and their families do to ensure their loved one dies a ‘good death’? According to Naomi it is vital to to establish an Advance Care Directive.

“If they need help, residents and families can always engage with our staff around these conversations. Having an Advance Care Directive in place allows us to record their wishes, in the event that their health deteriorates.

“Our staff can then ensure that their preferences are respected and we have a clear understanding about the delivery of their care when there is a change in their condition.

“Having the conversation is so important, because everyone has the right to be involved in decisions around their own end of life care, whatever that may look like. We need to create an environment where residents and families feel comfortable to have those difficult conversations.”

Want to find out more?

Residential Aged Care with VMCH offers tailored care, specialised dementia support, palliative care and respite options. Call us on 1300 698 624 to find out more.

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Acknowledgement of Country

We here at VMCH respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we gather, and we would like to take a moment to honour the fact that we live on the lands of the oldest civilisation in the world. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples, and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.