Palliative care in general practice

GPs are well-placed to provide palliative and end-of-life care for patients.

Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of patients with life-limiting illnesses. It is often associated with the care of people with cancer, but those with non-cancer end-stage chronic or complex conditions also have significant needs that GPs can help to address.

End-of-life care is an important part of palliative care. It denotes the care and services given to people who are nearing the end of their life, and their families. It often involves bringing together health professionals to help patients to live out their life as comfortably as possible.

Improving palliative care

As our population ages and chronic diseases become more prevalent, improving palliative care has become an Australian Government priority. However, studies have shown many GPs lack confidence in providing this care. Discussing palliative and end-of-life care with patients can be difficult and timely referrals to specialist palliative care services can help.

An estimated 60 to 70 per cent of Australians would prefer to die at home. GPs and other primary health care providers play an integral role in fulfilling these wishes, where possible. NWMPHN works to support them by:

• improving links between  care professionals such as GPs, practice nurses, and residential aged care staff, community and inpatient services palliative care services
• coordinating access to resources for primary health care providers regarding palliative care services in the region
• coordinating access to quality palliative care education for health care professionals in the region.

The Greater Choice for At Home Palliative Care measure provides funding for coordinating palliative care through primary health networks.

The current round of funding supports capability building of the primary care workforce, improved integration and coordination between primary care and palliative care providers, and promotion of end-of-life options to community.

We help GPs and primary health care providers to provide palliative care as part of usual practice. We provide education, resources and deliver other activities to support this.

Palliative care access to core medicines (PCAM)

The Palliative Care Access to Core Medicines (PCAM) project supports palliative care in the community by increasing access to essential medicines for people who wish to die at home or in an aged care setting.

The project recruits community pharmacies, which agree to stock the medications most commonly prescribed to control symptoms experienced by people in the final period of their lives. Doing so eases access to these vital medicines, making the process of acquiring them simpler for the families and carers of the dying, as well as reducing discomfort and suffering.

The medications stocked comprise the Core Medicines List, which was drawn up after consultation with palliative care experts. Participating pharmacies are displayed on a PCAM-specific map, allowing prescribers, patients and carers to quickly locate the most convenient supplier.

These links provide more information:

• View the list of core medicines, a map of pharmacy stockists, and an educational webinar
• Pharmacies can use this form to join the project and stock the medicines
• Read about our work to establish the project with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia

Palliative Care Services in the NWMPHN region

The North and West Metropolitan Region Palliative Care Consortium supports the delivery of effective, responsive, and accessible palliative care services to people in the north west metropolitan region of Melbourne.

Precious Time

Following consultations with community members and subject matter experts, NWMPHN created a stand-alone website to provide information and support for people with life-limiting conditions, as well as the people who love and support them.

The website is called Precious Time.

It contains expert advice on the subject relevant to end-of-life decisions, including how to have difficult conversations, advance care planning, managing palliative care at home, financial planning, finding carers and symptom support.

Precious Time contains listings for hundreds of organisations that provide palliative care support in Melbourne’s north and west. Many cater to particular communities and language groups.

The website also features a very active blog, containing original and curated stories and reflections about the process of dying and death.