Clinical resources, training and education
Essential elements of end of life care is an online resource published by the Victorian Department of Health. The resource for boards, executives, managers and clinicians of all disciplines, is designed to assist acute health services to operationalise the National consensus statement: essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care. The resource includes sections on:
- Patient centred care
- Teamwork
- Goals of care
- Using triggers
- Responding to concerns
- Leadership and governance
- Education and training
- Supervision and support
- Evaluation and feedback
- Supporting systems
CareSearch is an evidence palliative care based website developed at Palliative and Supportive Services, Flinders University funded by the Australian Government. CareSearch includes palliative care evidence and tools for health professionals and information about death and dying for the whole community.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care leads and coordinates national improvements in safety and quality in health care. The Commission’s strategic priorities are in the areas of: patient safety; partnering with patients, consumers and communities; quality cost and value; and supporting health professionals to provide care that is informed, supported and organised to deliver safe and high quality care. Key resources:
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) is an Australian Government body focused on providing data and information for better decisions and improved healthcare. Click here for information about palliative care data including a range of national and state/territory statistics.
The Centre for Palliative Care is part of St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne and is a Collaborative Centre of The University of Melbourne. The Centre’s website includes:
- Palliative Care Education
- Resources for Advance Care Planning, Carers Resources, Health Sector and Community Engagement and Publications
- Current research
The Centre’s education and training opportunities include:
- Victorian Palliative Medicine Training Program (VPMTP)
- The Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA)
- Online webinars
End-of-life Essentials is a project of Flinders University. It provides e-learning and resources for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to improve the quality and safety of end of life care in hospitals.
The content of End of Life Essentials has been informed by the National Consensus Statement ‘ Essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care’ the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and is relevant to implementation of the end of life care components of the Commission’s National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.
Community HealthPathwaysis an online portal designed to be used at the point of care by GP teams. It is an initiative of the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) and Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (EMPHN). It aims to guide best-practice assessment and management of common medical conditions and includes detailed information and links on palliative care topics.
The Victorian cancer plan 2024-2028 identifies ways to prevent cancer, increase survival, improve the experience of the cancer treatment and care system, and achieve equitable outcomes for all Victorians with cancer.
Victoria’s Integrated Cancer Services (ICS) and the Victorian Cancer Clinical Network comprise clusters of hospitals and associated health services that deliver care for people with all types of cancers within a geographic area, including public hospitals, community-based services, general practitioners and other primary health organisations, private hospitals and supportive care services.
Medicinal cannabis information for health professionals webpage provides information about treatment applications, prescribing, and dispensing medicinal cannabis. Information includes:
- Key messages
- Overview
- Who can prescribe medicinal cannabis?
- Clinical evidence
- Choosing a medicinal cannabis product
- How to prescribe
- Cautionary advice
- Writing a prescription
- Dispensing
The Victorian Paediatric Pallaitive Care Program webpage hosted by the Royal Children’s Hospital includes a range of information and links about paediatric palliative care.
Palliative Care Australia has a range of information and links for health professionals who support people with life-limiting illness and their families.
The Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) is an Australian Government national research network run by Flinders University that aims to:
- Generate high quality research evidence to support the use of medicines and other interventions at the end of life to better manage or alleviate symptoms in patients such as: pain; confusion; breathlessness; appetite; and gastrointestinal problems including nausea; bowel obstruction; and constipation.
- Build capacity within the health workforce in the conduct of high quality clinical research in patients nearing the end of life and the translation of research results into clinical practice.
PCC4U is an Australian Government funded project led by Queensland University of Technology in collaboration with the Queensland Government, Flinders University and Curtin University of Technology. It promotes the inclusion of palliative care education as an integral part of all medical, nursing, and allied health undergraduate and entry to practice training, and ongoing professional development.
The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. It aims to improve palliative care outcomes. It operates from the Australasian Health Outcomes Consortium (AHOC) at the University of Wollongong (UOW) and is a collaboration between UOW, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and the University of Western Australia (UWA).
The PCOC website includes clinical assessment tools: Palliative Care Phase, Palliative Care Problem Severity Score (PCPSS), Symptom Assessment Scale (SAS), Australia-modified Karnofsky Performance Status (AKPS) Scale and Resource Utilisation Groups – Activities of Daily Living (RUG-ADL).
Participation in PCOC can also provide evidence for organisations and palliative care services to meet core actions in the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.
The Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) is a nationally funded program run in Victoria by the Centre for Palliative Care.
Victorian PEPA aims to improve the accessibility of quality palliative care in the community by increasing the skills and confidence of health professionals who are caring for people with serious illness, and their families. PEPA activities include:
- Workshops on the palliative approach
- Supervised clinical placements
- Post-placement support activities
The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT™) was developed by the University of Edinburgh to:
- Help identify people whose health is deteriorating
- Assess them for unmet supportive and palliative care needs
- Plan care
The SPICT™ includes clinical indicators for: cancer; dementia/frailty; neurological disease; heart/vascular disease; respiratory disease; kidney disease; liver disease; other conditions. Download the SPICT™ free of charge via a registration process.
Also refer to the Victorian Department of Health (DOH) Ready for Community Palliative Care and Essential elements of end of life care for more guidance.
Funded by the Victorian Department of Health and run as part of the Centre for Palliative Care, the Victorian Palliative Medicine Training Program (VPMTP) aims to build and sustain a high quality palliative medicine workforce in Victoria. This includes providing palliative care specialists, as well as doctors from other specialities, with the necessary knowledge and skills to practice palliative medicine as part of their clinical workload. VPMTP runs a range of workshops and mentoring programs, along with advanced specialist training in palliative medicine.
This resource has been developed by the Southern Metropolitan Region Palliative Care Consortium to guide health professionals caring for indivudals with PD in the terminal stage, and their family/carers. It includes contact details for further help and an example care plan to guide care considerations.
Banksia Palliative Care (Banksia) palliative care education is faciliated by trained and experienced Educators, with qualifications and expertise in all areas of palliative care.
The Eastern Pallaitive Care Foundations Program is designed to increase skills, confidence, retention, and reduce risk of the community palliative care workforce by providing fast-track intensive training for palliative care professionals.
Grief Australia Resources for Health Profressionals
CareSearch Grief and Bereavement Reources and links