Palliative Care
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What is Palliative Care?'Palliative care is provided for people of all ages who have a life limiting illness, with little or no prospect of cure, and for whom the primary treatment goal is quality of life. Palliative care provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms, integrates psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care and offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient's illness and in their own bereavement'. (World Health Organisation, 2002). The Palliative Care Service works within the NSW Framework for Palliative Care and Palliative Care Australia's standards. In 2005 the health services from the Northern Rivers area, and the Mid North Coast area amalgamated to form the North Coast Area Health Service. Because this amalgamation is recent, not all services are using the same model across the region. The Palliative Care Service in the Northern Rivers is based on a specialist consultative model. This means that community nurses and general practitioners provide Palliative Care with the support of the Palliative Care specialists. |
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