Palliative care phone service now available. FREE aged care workshops. Register for training. Advance care planning education for GPs.

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1 ISSUE 5 The Decision Assist Project Update is a bimonthly summary of key news and events from the Decision Assist program. Funded by the Australian Government, Decision Assist aims to build capacity, linkages and access to palliative care and advance care planning services for older Australians by providing support and education to GPs and aged care providers. Welcome Palliative care phone service now available FREE aged care workshops Register for training Advance care planning education for GPs The Decision Assist program continues to forge ahead, with the phone advisory services now fully operational, a range of workshops being rolled out nationally and the linkages projects soon to be unveiled. Lots of good feedback is being received about the range of support and services provided, which is particularly positive as the program isn t officially launched until later this month. Read on to find out more about what s new and how you can get involved!

2 02 Official launch event An event to officially mark the launch of Decision Assist is now being planned in Canberra for 28 October Leaders in politics, health and the aged care sectors are being invited to attend the event, which will showcase all the Decision Assist projects and the ways they are working to improve access to quality advance care planning and palliative care for older Australians. It will also be an important networking opportunity for anyone interested in advance care planning and palliative care, and for those who want to find out directly from the project leaders about how Decision Assist can help and support people working in the industry. If you would like to attend the launch, or obtain a launch information pack, please the Events team at Palliative Care Australia: Events@palliativecare.org.au The launch will showcase all the Decision Assist projects and how they are working to support people in the industry

3 03 FREE aged care workshops Good news for all aged care staff the Decision Assist workshops on advance care planning and palliative care are now being offered for free, so people are encouraged to register quickly for a workshop in their local area to avoid disappointment. The aged care workshops page on the Decision Assist website features all the information about when and where they will be held in each state and territory, with more than 350 planned at locations all around Australia before the end of next year. Participants will be required to complete online learning modules and attend two face to face workshops held 2 months apart. The online learning content covers the theory of advance care planning and a palliative approach to care. Separate workshops will be held for residential aged care staff and for Home Care Packages staff working in the community. Those who complete the course will be accredited with 13 hours of Continuing Professional Development. For more information about the workshops, call the aged care training line on (03)

4 04 Phone Decision Assist for advice now! We are pleased to announce that the setup of the Decision Assist phone advisory service project is now complete, with both the palliative care and the advance care planning advice lines fully operational. The specialist Palliative Care Phone Advisory Service has been operating since 1 September 2014, with St Vincent s Hospital Melbourne awarded the tender following a national invitation for expressions of interest. The team at Decision Assist is pleased to have St Vincent s on board, since they are a major provider of palliative care to patients across Victoria and regarded as a national leader in palliative care research, education and training. People with palliative care needs beyond those that can be provided by generalist services deserve access to appropriate expert level care. Advice and support are not subject to registration with a specialist service. This phone service is available to all GPs and aged care staff working in residential or aged community care services right around Australia. To date, callers to the palliative care service have inquired about resources and services in their local areas, medication advice and symptom management. The service also offers advice related to psychosocial and bereavement support, as well as information about education and training resources. The phone service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling Information and advice is provided by palliative care registered nurses for the cost of a local call, regardless of where calls are made. Specialist palliative care doctors are available for consultation when required.

5 05 Both the advance care planning and the palliative care phone lines are now fully operational Advance care planning advice is also available on the same phone number with experienced health professionals taking calls from 8am until 8pm daily. Staff who have participated in the Decision Assist Aged Care Training Workshops have found it particularly useful for follow up advice. All calls to the phone advisory services are treated confidentially, and comply with a strict privacy policy that can be viewed on the website Also visit the website for further information about how the phone advisory services can help you in your role and your organisation, or alternatively telephone now. Registered nurses provide a range of assistance, from how to initiate advance care planning conversations, setting up a case conference, where to find appropriate advance care planning documents for your state or territory, how to implement advance care planning into your facility, information on health professional education and training, and information regarding the different state and territories legislation. The line has been operating since July, with the number of calls steadily increasing as the program gains recognition across the aged care sector.

6 06 Linkages assessments The assessment process for the Linkages grant applications is now underway, with the successful applicants and their project details expected to be announced later this month. More than 30 applications were received nationally from a diverse range of organisations with proposals that aim to enhance linkages between aged care and palliative care service providers. The grants of up to $80,000 each are intended to support improvements in palliative care for those aged over 65 years, or over 50 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Linkages project is a key component of Decision Assist, because it provides important opportunities to better link and coordinate multidisciplinary care and to support staff and carers in their roles. The linkages projects are expected to produce a range of benefits, including improved communication between all involved in a person s care, better understanding of the various roles of different service providers to promote service provision that is consistent with a person s specific wishes, and a reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions. The aim is that the newly developed linkages will create a more supportive care environment to ensure all health professionals and care workers are well equipped to deliver this service.

7 07 GP workshops The Decision Assist GP workshops for improving end of life care are being positively received around the country, with recent workshops held for the Australian and New Zealand Society for Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM), the Brisbane Palliative Care Medical Interest Group, the Australian Practice Nurses Association in Canberra and the national RACGP conference - GP14 - in Adelaide. GPs and GP registrars can register now for upcoming events, including workshops planned for Rural Medicine Australia 2014 in Sydney on 1 November, the Healthed Conference in Adelaide on 1 November, the General Practitioner Conference and Exhibition in Melbourne from November, and at Fifty Shades of Pain Queensland Pain and Palliative Care conference in Brisbane from 3-5 December. Full details are on the Decision Assist website with links to registrations for each event. In September, a joint Decision Assist workshop for GPs, including advance care planning and palliative care, was held at the Australian Medical Educators Network (AMEN) conference in Brisbane. This workshop introduced the GP component of Decision Assist to GP medical educators from across Australia. This means that, potentially, all GP registrars can receive training about the advantages of Decision Assist, both for GPs themselves and for their provision of care for all older Australians. This would allow for 100% reach of Decision Assist to the emerging GPs of the future. Advance care planning education for GPs is currently being developed and will be available in GPs can register now for upcoming events

8 08 Website New webpages are now available on the Decision Assist website to help health professionals support people with specific advance care planning and palliative care needs. Located in the Resources Section of the website, by clicking on the Specific Needs hyperlink, a wealth of information is available to guide professionals assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities; as well as people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI). In addition, specific information is provided to help staff dealing with people who have dementia, those living in rural and remote areas, and those seeking guidance on spirituality and faith. of life care wishes, how Decision Assist can support ethnically diverse communities, how to include Australians of diverse sexual orientation in the advance care planning and palliative care processes, tips on overcoming the geographical challenges that Australia poses, or caring for people of different religions, then the Decision Assist website can help you. Many of the resources are posted online so they are easy to view and download. Also, don t forget to add the Decision Assist website - to your favourites bar, so you can easily access all the latest announcements and developments associated with the program at the click of a button. It includes best practice advice for providing appropriate care to these groups, as well as policy and management considerations and reputable sources of information and research outcomes for further learning and support. So, whether you are looking for information on how cultural differences may affect a person s end

9 09 08 Help Conferences spread and the Events word The Decision Decision Assist Assist palliative communications care workshops team will be has conducted been busy at the producing following upcoming a range conferences. of communications materials to help spread the word about the range 2-5 September at the ANZSPM of Decision Assist projects and these Conference on the Gold Coast are now hot off the press! September the GPCE Conference PDFs in Brisbane are posted on the website if you would 9-11 like October download at GP14 copies, The RACGP or alternatively contact the communications team by ing Rachel@palliativecare.org.au conference for General Practice in Adelaide. For further information about participation in these workshops, contact Dr Karen Cooper at ANZSPM via . Associate Professor Jennifer Tieman will also give a presentation on Decision Assist at the ACSA National Conference in Adelaide on 8 and 9 September Pull quote it abori delit re dellantio illorpo Also, look out for Decision Assist advertisements reperunt in laccull Australian aboritatur Ageing the aute. Agenda, Aged Care Insite, Fusion Magazine and at the LASA National Congress from October. If you are attending the Congress, remember to come and say hello to our staff; they will be stationed in the LASA Lounge during the event to answer all your Decision Assist questions. Decision Assist is a $15 million project funded by the Australian Government as part of the Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package. Decision Assist aims to build capacity, Conferences linkages and and events access to palliative care and older advance Australians, care planning and not services the for older Australians by providing support and education residents to GPs or and clients aged care living providers. in the It is being In September implemented 2014, by a A/Prof consortium Jennifer of leading national community, health, A/Prof aged care, Tieman and academic explained organisations Tieman spoke including at the Austin ACSA Health, Palliative Care that Australia, the benefits Flinders will ultimately University, the flow to University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, the Australian and New conference in Adelaide. Her older Australians. Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine, Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), and Aged and presentation Community was Services titled Australia Decision (ACSA). Assist: What s in it for aged care By improving staff confidence, Information contained in this publication may be reproduced competence in health and access and aged to care providers, staff and residents/clients publications, with the permission of the Decision Assist knowledge, Project the team. quality of care on the ground? provided will improve. The presentation featured an Aged care staff were encouraged to overview of the program and the For further information, please contact Rachel get Hawes: involved with the program by expertise behind it, and detailed its telling work colleagues about it, by p potential (02) 6163 benefits 8404 in the community. signing up for a newsletter, visiting the e rachel@palliativecare.org.au website, attending a workshop, or Although the focus of Decision Assist calling the phone line when they need is to help those providing care to Click to subscribe or unsubscribe to Decision Assist Project advice. News.

10 10 Conferences and events (cont.) Look out for Decision Assist at the following upcoming industry events: The LASA National Congress from October in Adelaide Rural Medicine Australia 2014 on 1 November in Sydney The General Practitioner Conference and Exhibition on 14 November in Melbourne Fifty Shades of Pain Queensland Pain and Palliative Care conference on 3-5 December in Brisbane. The Healthed Conference on 1 November in Adelaide Project Update December 2014 The next edition of the Decision Assist Project Update will be issued in December Contributions and updates are most welcome. Please contact the program communications officer, Rachel Hawes, by ing Rachel@palliativecare.org.au or by telephoning Decision Assist is a multifaceted program funded by the Australian Government, which aims to build capacity, linkages and access to palliative care and advance care planning services for older Australians, by providing support and education to general practitioners and aged care staff. It is being implemented by a consortium of leading national health, aged care, and academic organisations including Austin Health, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM), Flinders University, Palliative Care Australia (PCA), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the University of Queensland (UQ), Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), and Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA). Information contained in this publication may be reproduced in health and aged care publications, with the permission of the Decision Assist program team. Contact Rachel Hawes p (02) e rachel@palliativecare.org.au