Prepare for National Advance Care Planning week
Health and aged care providers play a valued role in helping others with advance care planning. National Advance Care Planning Week from March 20-26 is the perfect time to support people to participate in advance care planning. Brush up on your knowledge by exploring resources or join the free Advance Care Planning Australia (ACPA) webinars.
ELDAC launches new Home Care App for care workers
End of Life Directions for Aged Care’s (ELDAC) new Home Care App has been developed, designed, and tested, with the help of home care workers and managers. The Home Care App has information and practical tips on how to confidently care for a client as their health declines and their care needs change. It includes:
Is your patient or resident eligible for specialist dementia care?
Caring for those living with dementia can be challenging. Up to 95% of people living with dementia experience changes in behaviour. These may include episodes of significant agitation or aggression that may be difficult to manage. The complexity and severity of these behaviours means that some Australians living with dementia are unable to be cared
Antipsychotics and consent in the management of dementia
Since 1 July 2021, amendments to the Quality of Care Principles 2014, have placed obligations on Residential Aged Care (RAC) providers to obtain and record consent prior to the use of any restrictive practises. This includes the use of antipsychotic medications. The Australian Government’s Six Steps for Safe Prescribing of Antipsychotics and Benzodiazepines in Residential Aged
Applications open for Active Ageing grants
People aged 60 and over in the Northern Rivers will soon have more options to help them stay fit, with applications now open for the ‘Active Ageing’ grants program. Active Ageing grants are now available to support exercise providers and fitness leaders to provide low-cost exercise programs for people over the age of 60 in
Swift action on COVID-19 upswing helps aged care residents
As the fourth wave of COVID-19 continues across Australia, the number of cases in residential aged care (RAC) homes increased during November. At the same time, early preventative action and preparation by way of immunisation and antiviral consent have significantly contributed to low mortality rates. Healthy North Coast thanks all GPs caring for residents in
Ageing and End-of-Life Workshop captures valuable insights
Healthy North Coast held an ageing and end-of-life workshop on 12 October in Ballina, attended by members of the public, as well as ageing and palliative care sector employees. This is the first of two workshops to explore journeys in ageing and end-of-life, with the second one to be held in Coffs Harbour in early
The importance of coordinating end-of-life patient care
Flinders University’s new End-of-Life Essentials module, ‘The Importance of Coordinating Patient Care‘, explores end-of-life care needs through ‘George’. The scenario takes place during George’s transfer from his residential aged care facility to hospital, and after assessment, back to his facility. Patients at the end of life have usually been receiving services from various health professionals for
A good death; Palliative Care Consultation
We all want a good death, now is the time to make that happen! Healthy North Coast is seeking expressions of interest from GPs, primary care practitioners, community providers and those with an interest in palliative and end of life care to participate in a facilitated consultation session to support the development and implementation of
Consider the ELDAC toolkit for palliative patients
There are many benefits to providing palliative care for your patients in primary care. These include better continuity of care, reduced need for travel, and an improved chance of patients being able to die at home. The End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) specialist palliative care and advance care planning advisory service has
Consultation on general practice residential aged care standards closing
The consultation period for the draft Standards for general practice residential aged care (1st edition) (Standards for GPRAC) will now close on 19 August 2022. The RACGP released the draft Standards for GPRAC for a second public consultation in May 2020. Since then, a pilot of the Standards for GPRAC has been successfully conducted at several residential
CareSearch offers enhanced palliative care resource
An expanded and enhanced online palliative care resource is now available for health professionals. The resource is Flinders University’s CareSearch Evidence Centre, which provides access to an expanded and upgraded range of evidence-based and translation materials for health professionals. This new centrepiece of the CareSearch website includes clinical evidence summaries, links to palliative care guidelines,
