Blog

An important part of preparing for COVID-19 is to include advance care planning as part of your response. Only 25% of older Australians aged 65 years and over have documented their preferences in an Advance Care Directive. In her guest blog, Advance Care Planning Australia (ACPA) Program Director, Linda Nolte, shares why it is imperative to increase advance care planning for older Australians as the aged care sector prepares for the spread of the coronavirus.

Additional pressures on the healthcare system during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can challenge the way we approach activities we perform routinely, including the management of medicines. Paul Tait, Lead Palliative Care Pharmacist at Southern Adelaide Palliative Care Services discusses five tips to ensure good medicines management for people living with palliative care needs in their home. 

COVID-19 is changing the way we understand our health systems, our society and ourselves. Palliative care is now a critical part of a response to the pandemic nationally. Professor Jennifer Tieman discusses the need to provide relevant information to health professionals, aged care workers, and patients, family and carers, and how the new CareSearch COVID-19 and Palliative Care hub can support them.

Speech Pathologists not only provide services to people whose function is affected by communication or swallowing impairment. As part of our focus on Advance Care Planning Week, Wendy Pearse from Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service and Stephanie Veal from Austin Health discuss the important role of Speech Pathologists in palliative care and advance care planning.

Australia has a diverse older population and it is important for those caring for older Australians to have access to evidence-based resources to ensure quality care is delivered to all older people, regardless of their specific background and preferences. Dr Georgia Rowley, Research Associate at ELDAC discusses the importance of understanding specific considerations when caring for older diverse Australians in an end of life context, and how ELDAC can provide resources to help.