Palliative care consultancy services

Palliative care consultancy services of metropolitan public hospitals are teams of specialist doctors and nurses who provide palliative care advice to assist treating teams across all areas of the hospital.

Palliative care consultancy advice may include: pain and symptom management, including emotional and spiritual distress; assistance with decision-making and family/patient communication; discharge planning; linking in with community palliative care services and/or possible admission to the hospital’s palliative care unit.

In addition to seeing hospital inpatients, staff from palliative care consultancy teams are often involved in outpatient clinics, including both specialist palliative care clinics and other clinics where palliative care issues need to be considered.

All referrals to palliative care consultancy services are internal to hospitals via hospital staff making contact with the service. All metropolitan public hospitals have a palliative care consultancy service, including the following available to NW Metro residents.

Austin Health Palliative Care Consultative Service

Phone: via hospital switchboard 9496 5000 and ask for the palliative care clinical nurse consultant or registrar to be paged.

Website: Austin Health Palliative Care Services

Melbourne Health (Royal Melbourne Hospital) Palliative Care Consulting Service

Operating together with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre as part of the Parkville Integrated Palliative Care Service of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.*

Phone: 9342 7820

Website: Royal Melbourne Hospital Palliative and Supportive Care (for health professionals)

Northern Heath Palliative Care Consult Service

Phone: via Epping hospital switchboard 8405 8000.

Website: Northern Health Palliative Care

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) Pain and Palliative Care Team

Operating together with Melbourne Health as part of the Parkville Integrated Palliative Care Service of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre*.

Phone: 8559 7960

Website: Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (Peter Mac) Palliative Care

Royal Children’s Hospital (Victorian Paediatric Palliative Care Program)

Phone: 9345 5374

Website: Royal Children’s Hospital (Victorian Paediatric Palliative Care Program)

Werribee Mercy Hospital Palliative Care Consultancy

Phone: via hospital switchboard 8754 3000

Website: Mercy Health Palliative Care

Western Health Palliative Care Consultancy

Phone: via the Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) 8345 1964 (Sunshine) or 8345 7068 (Footscray)

Website: Western Health Palliative Care

*Parkville Integrated Palliative Care Service of Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC)

Palliative care services of Royal Melbourne Hospital/Melbourne Health and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) operate together as a shared service – the Parkville Integrated Palliative Care Service – of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC). The services include inpatient beds, cancer and non-cancer outpatient clinics, and the palliative care consultation service that covers the Parkville hospital precinct (Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Women’s Hospital and Peter Mac).