Supportive care for the one condition that affects us all

BY NEPEAN BLUE MOUNTAINS LHD

AFTER birth, death is the only life event that is both inevitable and universal. Palliative care services at Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District bring people and their loved ones together with an integrated team of health professionals and volunteers, increasing comfort and quality of life at the time it is most needed.

Palliative care, sometimes called supportive endof-life care, represents a transformative point in the patient journey.

Instead of a focus on medical interventions aimed at extending one’s years, a more holistic and supportive approach takes over, focusing entirely on quality of life towards its end.

Carolyn Wilkinson, Volunteer Coordinator at Nepean and Hawkesbury for NBMLHD’s Supportive and Palliative Care services, is keen to emphasise the varied and complex ways in which well-conceived palliative care can positively enhance someone’s end-of-life experience.

“Mitigating issues with symptoms and particularly pain is certainly a priority,” says Carolyn, “but that’s not all palliative care takes into account”.

“Caring for people who are dying often means focusing on these sorts of questions, and we are also very much focused on whoever else is on that journey, such as family members and loved ones,” says Carolyn.

The nuanced work of palliative care aims to turn these broad considerations into a range of supports that meet the individual needs of clients.

“It’s a very integrated and holistic approach across inpatient and community services,” says Carolyn.

“Goals of care are discussed collaboratively with the family and the person themselves, and we then make sure that all the doctors, nurses, allied health staff and volunteers are united in striving for those goals.”

Holistic and personalised support

Whilst medicine often still has a central role to play, palliative care also offers much needed companionship and a range of other practical supports.

These supports can include accompanying patients to appointments, running errands, prepping meals, or providing much-needed respite for carers.

In recent years NBMLHD’s Supportive and

Palliative Care services have also offered clients the opportunity to complete their biography, putting intangible memories into words, or helping to preserve and memorialise a life’s history using photographs, diaries, and letters.

Much of this support is provided by dedicated volunteers who bring great experiential knowledge to their work.

Louise, a volunteer for over five years, says that caring for someone who is dying can be both rewarding and challenging.

Robin, who trained as a nurse and has been a palliative care volunteer for over twenty-five years in the Blue Mountains, explains how her personal journey led to a fulfilling vocation.

“I started doing it because I had nursed my husband when he was dying at home, and I came to realise the value of being able to make that choice; to die at home,” says Robin.

“Because you’re not part of the family but are coming in as an outsider, often the client will talk to you about things they feel they can’t share with their nearest and dearest, and that’s very important.”

Matters of life and death

NBMLHD’s Carolyn Wilkinson says that while some may consider her field of work emotionally difficult, it is in fact a great privilege to share in and contribute to people’s valuable end-of-life experiences.

“Palliative care includes recognition and support for families and carers, which has a synergy with the beginning of life,” remarks Carolyn.

“Someone’s life may have a predetermined end, but even when their time is short they can still be supported to live - and sometimes they live extraordinarily well”. Enquiries about palliative care volunteering can be made to the Nepean and Hawkesbury Palliative Care Coordinator, Carolyn Wilkinson at carolyn. wilkinson@health.nsw.gov.aulaunch, or through Melissa Williams at our partner organisation Belong Blue Mountains: mwilliams@belongbm.org.aulaunch

Find more information about supportive and palliative care services on our website, and at Palliative Care NSWlaunch.

National Palliative Care Week ran from 21 to 27 May aiming to raise awareness of palliative care whilst normalising important conversations about death and dying.

Palliative care patients set to explore the world through virtual reality

PALLIATIVE care patients at Nepean Hospital will soon get to explore the world from their hospital beds with newly donated virtual reality (VR) sets donated by local charity, Our Community Cares and VR specialists, Mobiddiction.

Not just for watching movies and playing games, virtual reality can eliminate the boredom and stress of the hospital environment for patients.

With pre-programmed experiences, patients will be able to immerse themselves in a virtual world where they can recreate the rush of going skydiving, explore the wilderness and listen to sounds of nature, or travel to another land taking in the breathtaking sites of another country.

In recent years VR has been shown to improve patient outcomes such as managing pain, supporting patient anxiety levels, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.

Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District Senior Staff Specialist,

Supportive & Palliative Care Dr Alan Oloffs says the VR devices will make a big difference to many of our palliative care and cancer patients.

“This technology will allow them to have experiences they no longer can have otherwise and improve the quality of their lives,” says Dr Alan Oloffs.

The virtual reality clinical experience is one of the first of its kind for Nepean Hospital as it has a specific VR enabled application designed for use with the patient experience in mind.

Supportive and Palliative Nurse Practitioner, Rebecca Palmer explains how VR can offer the very best possible experience of care at a truly difficult time.

“We are able to offer patients the chance to experience spectacular sights from around the world, to reconnect to the past and share precious memories with their family & friends, that is truly something special,” says Rebecca.