You may not like talking about the care arrangements you want at the end of your life. But talking about it and planning can help. So don’t be afraid to start a conversation with the aged care team. For most older people living at home and coming to the end of their life, friends and families will provide care and support alongside the aged care staff and health professionals.
For older people needing palliative care support, this might be provided by your GP and community services.
For complex or unmet palliative care needs, specialists can provide additional support in your own home following referral by your GP, aged care provider or hospital staff.
You may need to coordinate care between palliative care services and CHSP or other services. There might be a lot of people visiting your home. Having a family member or friend to help coordinate visits can help.
Palliative Care Australia has a list of questions that you might want to ask of the palliative care team. For information on day-to-day palliative caring and symptom management visit the Living with illness and How to care sections.
Page created 27 January 2022