New palliative care hub opens in Victoria

A new Palliative Care South East community hub in Narre Warren aims to provide essential end-of-life care to terminally ill Victorians.

Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas officially opened the facility designed to reduce the impact that life-limiting illness can have on patients and their families, with a range of activities on offer to assist them in managing the social, psychosocial and physical impacts of end-of-life care. “This new hub is just one example of how we’re delivering Victorians the end-of-life care they need and deserve, no matter where they live,” Thomas said.

Palliative Care South East provides home-based care to more than 450 patients at any given time and offers a range of in-person and virtual appointments. The new facility features counselling rooms, therapeutic wellbeing gardens, bereavement support groups, art, music and massage therapy and other activities.

It also provides support for families and carers, and coordinates specialist training programs for both staff and volunteers.

The new hub hopes to serve as a central coordination point for staff across the region, supporting visits to more patients in their homes, as well as delivering care at residential aged care and primary care — meaning more Victorians can receive the care they need closer to home.

Palliative Care South East is one of the many providers benefitting from the government’s $32 million package to strengthen community palliative care across the state. The package is supporting palliative care providers as demand for care increases and helping them to extend their services to support Victorians receiving care at home.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com/LPETTET