Resources support palliative, end-of-life care
ELDAC has launched a three-step campaign to help residential and home aged care services address the new palliative care and end-of-life care requirements in the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.
The End of Life Directions for Aged Care team at Flinders University has developed online and downloadable resources to help aged care providers meet the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards ahead of their 1 July commencement.
Within Outcome 5.7: Palliative care and end-of-life care of the standards, the three legislated enforceable statements require providers to:
- recognise and address the needs, goals and preferences of individuals
- ensure individuals have pain and symptoms actively managed and access to specialist care when required
- ensure supporters are informed and supported, including during the last days of life.
ELDAC provides information, guidance, and resources for aged care professionals and workers to support palliative care and advance care planning and improve the care of older Australians. These now include:
- a new webpage dedicated to addressing the standards
- a downloadable service guide to addressing outcome 5.7
- a two-part expert-led webinar series in May (this Thursday) and June.
Online and downloadable tools
The dedicated landing page aims to aid knowledge building and information support. The service guide has been developed to help providers see how the ELDAC program with its products, supportive tools and resources can help them work towards meeting outcome 5.7, said Dr Priyanka Vandersman, who is based at Flinders University.
An individual can use the guide to familiarise themselves with the context of the new requirements. It’s also useful for the quality assurance manager and people responsible for demonstrating how the service is meeting the standard, she added.
“It’s very easy to read. The elements within there can be useful to develop knowledge and awareness around Outcome 5.7,” Dr Vandersman told AAA.
“On the second last page of the guide, we have a checklist. That’s around, how we can help providers work towards meeting outcome 5.7,” she said.
“While the workforce needs to be aware of and provide care in line with what is expected within the standard, the responsibility to document, demonstrate and meet the standard sits at the provider level.
“We have picked the three outcome statements within outcome 5.7 and we have used the ELDAC program, products and resources to map that around how can we help services to deliver actions that align with those three outcome statements.”
First webinar on 22 May
The free webinar series aims to help people continue learning how ELDAC resources can help. The first 30-minute lunchtime webinar is this Thursday. It features Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates from Queensland University of Technology exploring how the ELDAC Linkages Program can support aged care services to address Outcome 5.7.
A second webinar on 19 June features Professor Deborah Parker from University of Technology Sydney, who will explore how the ELDAC Toolkits can support services to address Outcome 5.7.
“It’s all about bringing the products to life and helping the sector understand and then use them to work towards 5.7,” Dr Vandersman told AAA.
The first webinar takes place on Thursday 22 May 12pm – 12:30pm AEST. Register here
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