End-of-life care external resources

A free service to help people let multiple organisations know that someone has died using a single online notification.

Flinders University has produced a number of end-of-life education modules to assist acute care clinicians in meeting the challenges of providing end-of-life care. The modules are based on the Commission’s National Consensus Statement: Essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care and are funded by the Australian Government as a National Palliative Care Project.

The modules focus on developing clinical knowledge and skills in communication and decision-making, and are aimed at doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.

• Access the end-of-life essentials modules
• View the Goals of Care video

The End-of-Life Essentials project has recognised that many healthcare staff want to gain an understanding on the key fundamentals of end-of-life care and has developed the Orientation to End-of-Life Care package which includes four key modules: 

• Dying, a Normal Part of Life
• Recognising the End-of-Life
• Imminent Death
• Communication and Decision-Making.

End of Life Law for Clinicians (ELLC) has 13 online training modules available for medical practitioners, nurses, allied and other health professionals, and medical students about the law on end of life decision-making. The training can be accessed for free at the ELLC online training portal.

The modules include clinical case studies, vignettes of clinicians sharing their end of life experiences, and more legal cases and interactive learning. Certificates of Completion are available for each module. RACGP Statements of Attendance for Medical Practitioners are also available.

For further information please contact QUT, endoflifelaw@qut.edu.au.

The Spiritual Health Association has produced an infographic describing spirituality to support people to understand the role of spiritual care.

The National Palliative Care Strategy is intended to be used by all Australian governments, as well as organisations and individuals, in guiding the implementation of palliative care across Australia so that people affected by life-limiting conditions receive the care they need to live well. The National Strategy provides a shared direction and authorising environment for the continuous improvement of palliative care services throughout Australia.

National Palliative Care Strategy

2018

Publication, report or update

Australian Capital Territory

• Palliative care specialist service
• Palliative Care Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

• Palliative care after hours helpline
• Palliative Care New South Wales

Northern Territory

• Palliative care information
• Palliative Care Northern Territory

Queensland

• PallAssist palliative care support and advice
• Palliative Care Queensland
• Care Companion

South Australia

• Palliative and supportive services
• Palliative Care South Australia

Tasmania

• Palliative care after hours phone support
• Palliative Care Tasmania

Victoria

• Palliative Care Advice Service for all Victorians
• Palliative Care Victoria

Western Australia

• Palliative care information
• Palliative Care Western Australia

Australian Capital Territory

• Palliative care resources for clinicians

New South Wales

• Palliative care after hours helpline for patients, carers and healthcare workers

Northern Territory

• Palliative care in the NT
• Territory Palliative Care

Queensland

• PallConsult – information for healthcare workers

South Australia

• Palliative care support line for clinicians

Tasmania

• Palliative care information for health professionals
• Specialist palliative care services

Victoria

• Palliative Care Advice Service for all Victorians

Western Australia

• Guide to specialist palliative care services
• Helpline

Care search is a website for everyone and provides evidence based information about palliative care.

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Portal (funded by Palliative Care Australia) has been developed specifically for the health workforce who provide care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their families and communities as well as supporting clinicians and policy makers in accessing relevant and culturally appropriate resources, research, events, courses and projects on palliative and end-of-life care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Subsections include Culturally appropriate palliative care and end-of-life care, Grief and bereavement and Planning ahead.

Caring@home develops and provides nationally consistent, practical and evidence-based clinical resources and education for health professionals. This supports:

• proactive planning for end-of-life care
• families and carers to help manage end-of-life symptoms at home
• patients to be cared for in the place of their choice including at home. 

The Palliative Care In Prisons Project aims to improve access to best evidence-based, culturally-safe, high-quality palliative and end-of-life care for people in prisons, through the collaborative co-design of a new National Framework for the Provision of Palliative Care in Australian Prisons.

Paediatric Palliative Care Education Hub delivers a range of paediatric palliative care education modules and is a collaboration between the Paediatric National Action Plan project and Quality of Care Collaborative Australia project. 

ACON Palliative Care Support offers a toolkit using a LGBTQO+ lens with the aim of making it easier to open conversations about death and dying.

PaCE is a resource directory for educators and clinicians in the form of a mobile-responsive web-based app. PaCE helps you find resources that support the development of specific palliative care capabilities for a variety of professions and contexts; and that align with particular learning approaches and modes of delivery. 

PaCE is free to use, and all learning resources are free to access – provided by National Palliative Care Project partners, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. PaCE is an initiative of the Palliative Care Education and Training Collaborative, led by QUT.