Embedding Palliative Care in Aged Care: Challenges and Opportunities

The recent bipartisan support for the Aged Care Act represents a major milestone in Australia’s efforts to reform aged care services, particularly in embedding palliative care into everyday practice. While legislative progress is promising, the real challenge lies in its implementation—ensuring that the Act delivers meaningful benefits for residents and their families.

Implications for Healthcare Professionals

The Aged Care Act addresses critical gaps in the provision of palliative care in residential facilities. For healthcare professionals, this framework emphasizes the importance of integrating palliative care as a standard component of aged care services. Key considerations include:

1. Guaranteeing Access to Quality Care: The Act aims to ensure all residents have equitable access to palliative and end-of-life care. This requires healthcare professionals to focus on making care inclusive and tailored to meet the cultural and individual needs of a diverse population. Training and systemic support will play a pivotal role in achieving this goal.
2. Strengthening End-of-Life Support: By allocating resources to support care at home, the Act highlights the need for healthcare teams to enhance service delivery across different settings. This calls for stronger collaboration among GPs, nurses, allied health providers, and palliative care specialists to address patient needs comprehensively.
3. Improving Accountability: A reduced reporting timeframe—from five years to three years—places greater emphasis on evaluating outcomes and driving continuous improvement. Healthcare providers will need efficient systems to track progress and adapt to the evolving demands of care delivery.

Challenges in Expanding Palliative Care

Despite these advancements, many barriers persist in making palliative care a central part of aged care. Data reveals:

• Approximately 92% of aged care residents could benefit from palliative care, yet only a small fraction access specialist support within their first year of admission.
• Only one-third of residents receive a comprehensive GP assessment during the same period.
• A mere 0.1% enter aged care with the specific purpose of receiving palliative care.

These figures reflect systemic gaps, including workforce shortages, limited training opportunities, and inadequate integration of palliative care principles into everyday practice. Addressing these issues will require coordinated efforts across the healthcare sector.

Role of Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in transforming the intentions of the Aged Care Act into meaningful outcomes. Key actions include:

• Advocating for Enhanced Resources: Ensuring facilities have the necessary workforce, equipment, and training to deliver high-quality palliative care.
• Participating in Continuous Education: Continuous professional development in palliative care is essential to bridging existing gaps and meeting rising demand.
• Building Collaborative Care Networks: Partnerships between aged care providers, hospitals, and community services are vital to creating seamless, patient-centred care pathways.

Looking Ahead

The reforms introduced by the Aged Care Act are an important step, but their success depends on the healthcare system's ability to implement them effectively. Comprehensive strategies outlined in initiatives like Palliative Care Australia’s Federal Election Platform can guide these efforts, fostering a more equitable and accessible aged care system.

Ultimately, prioritizing palliative care is a shared societal responsibility. By embedding it into aged care services, healthcare professionals can ensure that older Australians receive the dignity, compassion, and quality care they deserve during their final stages of life.

For general practitioners (GPs), the reforms also open avenues for new roles in aged care, emphasizing palliative care delivery and coordination. With increasing demand, pursuing GP careers in aged care presents opportunities to make a significant impact while addressing a critical healthcare need.

Resource:

Palliative Care Australia