11. Actions
Actions
When delivered, the 44 actions outlined in this Strategy will achieve the Strategy goals for palliative care reform. Implementation of the actions will be staggered across the Strategy’s implementation period in alignment with the reform approach.
The actions focus on expanding existing initiatives and exploring new areas. The actions emerged from the consultation process and aim to improve outcomes for people with a life-limiting illness and to better support families, carers and loved ones.
Some actions from the Workforce Plan are also reflected in this Strategy as a skilled, multidisciplinary, and supported workforce is one of the most important enablers to delivering high-quality palliative care.
Access to quality services
These are listed as actions followed by their time frame.
Work with Hospital and Health Services to support implementing of new initiatives and palliative care services, including continuous improvement to support the delivery of high-quality palliative care.
Ongoing
Explore program enhancement opportunities for the recurrently-funded Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme – Palliative Care Equipment Program to support palliative care at home.
Ongoing
Support patient care choices by providing funding to non-government service providers, including hospices, to deliver palliative care services within the community, and support people to receive care, and die, at home.
Ongoing
Continue to provide funding for the Paediatric Palliative Care Outreach Collaborative to support the delivery of palliative care services for children living in rural areas.
Ongoing
Establish and promote statewide grief and bereavement resources for people of all ages, including vulnerable groups, and seek opportunities to standardise approaches to service provision in services provided or funded by Queensland Health.
Ongoing
Expand the Specialist Palliative Rural Telehealth Service to provide additional support and education to staff and support the delivery of palliative care in rural and remote areas of Queensland.
2023-24
Co-design improved models of care that support consumers’, carers’ and clinicians’, including ambulance officers’, needs for information, referral, clinical advice and after-hours support.
2022–23
Investigate digital healthcare access barriers and identify opportunities to pilot, scale and spread digital healthcare service delivery to enhance the quality of palliative care across the state.
2023–24 — investigate
2024–25 — implement/pilot initiatives
Showcase proven digital healthcare initiatives operating in Queensland that increase access and choice and reduce inappropriate or unwanted admissions to hospital.
2023–24 then ongoing
Deliver new community-based care services for consumers living in regional, rural, and remote areas outside South East Queensland to support people’s preferences to receive care closer to home.
Commencing 2022–23
Co-design and commission demonstration models of First Nations led community-based palliative care services for First Nations peoples, to support best practice care and social and emotional wellbeing, that can be evaluated and potentially scaled up and expanded in the future.
Commencing 2022–23
Continue contracts with non-government organisations providing valued hospice services and support them to identify own source revenue for ongoing sustainable service provision.
2022–23 then ongoing
Support palliative care service integration, including through engagement with Primary Health Networks, particularly for residents of residential aged care facilities.
2022–23 then ongoing
Information about care
Actions
Develop and refine advance care planning forms, supporting documents and processes through co-design approaches with multi-disciplinary groups to ensure they provide appropriate and easy to understand information and guidance to clinicians and consumers.
2022–23 then ongoing
Trial the Decision Aid – Care Companion for people living with a life-limiting illness and their families to support decision-making for end-of-life care.
2022–23 and 2023–24
Deliver a contemporary social media marketing and engagement campaign to increase public awareness and reduce stigmas about death, dying and palliative care, and share information on advance care planning, Advance Health Directives, Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney.
2022–23 then ongoing
Deliver education and advocacy for health professionals about their role in advance care planning, palliative care access and choices, and bereavement care, to ensure people living with a life-limiting illness, their families and carers are involved in decision-making and have an opportunity to communicate their preferences for care.
2022–23 then ongoing
Engage with specific populations, including LGBTIQA+ people, people with disability, people in prisons, carers of older people, and older people who live in residential aged care facilities to identify their education and awareness needs for palliative and end-of-life care and the specific issues that these people in our community face when living with a life limiting illness.
2023–24 then ongoing
Individual needs and preferences
Actions
Review guidelines and policies supporting care for deceased persons and integrate appropriate prompts to enable tailored services that respond to cultural needs.
2023–24
Promote the need for, and use of, experienced interpreters for First Nations language speaking communities and culturally and linguistically diverse patients and loved ones for all health services, including palliative and end-of-life care.
2022–23 then ongoing
Co-design translated, easy English and culturally safe palliative and end-of-life care resources for First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse people, with peak bodies and community to increase awareness of palliative and end-of-life care and knowledge to support informed decision-making.
2022–23 scoping and co-design work
2023–24 implementation
Explore options to support First Nations people with a life-limiting illness to pass away on country or be returned to country after passing.
2023–24
Embed First Nations led culturally safe approaches into palliative care service models, to promote health equity and social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations consumers, their families, and carers.
2023–24 then ongoing
Support for families and carers
Actions
Work with Palliative Care Queensland, other peak bodies and Primary Health Networks to support compassionate communities’ initiatives, and community development, engagement and awareness initiatives about palliative and end-of-life care.
Ongoing
Investigate technology that can be used to support people to undertake advance care planning, and cope with dying, death, grief, and bereavement in Queensland.
2023–24 — investigate
2024–25 — implement initiatives
Provide palliative care information and advice to support consumers, carers, and families to access palliative care services and support, before and after the death of a loved one.
2022–23 development of model
2023–24 then ongoing
Skilled workforce
Actions
Continue to provide funding for PallConsult, a 24/7 secondary consultation phone service for palliative care practitioners and supportive educational service.
2023–24 then ongoing
Deliver investment and frontline workforce increases across Hospital and Health Services, informed by population need and service demand.
2023–24 then ongoing — variable across HHSs
Establish dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce position/s for each specialist palliative care service to maximise culturally safe care.
2023–24 then ongoing — variable across HHSs
Build the workforce required to link in and support community-based specialist palliative care services for consumers choosing care in the community.
2023–24 then ongoing — variable across HHSs
Establish dedicated bereavement care coordination and counselling positions and build the capability of the specialist palliative care workforce in bereavement care to increase access for carers and family.
2023–24 — variable across HHSs
Promote targeted information and professional development opportunities for Queensland Health staff about palliative care, including providing compassionate care, to ensure staff are equipped to respond to the spiritual, cultural, age related, and other diverse needs of people with a life-limiting illness.
2022–23 then ongoing
Promote existing resources and informal education and training opportunities to improve understanding of grief and bereavement among health and aged care workers, General Practitioners, nurses, and a variety of other community services, including relevant skills for identifying risk of prolonged grief disorder.
2022–23 then ongoing
Data and research
Actions
Co-design standardised approaches for measuring patient outcomes and experiences.
Ongoing
Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Strategy and consider lessons learned to improve service delivery and patient outcomes.
Ongoing
Support research and the translation of research into practice to inform models of care, workforce education, and palliative and end-of-life care resources for patients and carers through the Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education.
2022–23 then ongoing
Governance and advocacy
Actions
Support the Queensland Palliative Care Clinical Network and other clinical networks to drive development of quality models of care, innovations and improvement across specialist, generalist (including primary) palliative care service delivery and support system integration.
Ongoing
Advocate for continued Australian Government funding for the Specialist Palliative Care in Aged Care project, delivered under the Comprehensive Palliative Care in Aged Care Measure, ahead of the current agreement’s cessation on 30 June 2024.
Timeframe 2022–23 and 2023–24
Advocate to the Australian Government to provide additional investment in primary palliative care services through Medicare Benefits Schedule items to support palliative care and advance care planning consults.
Ongoing
Support Hospital and Health Service planning for palliative care services through regular consultation with Queensland Health executive forums and clinical networks and use of endorsed Queensland Health planning guidelines for palliative care services.
Ongoing
Undertake reporting against the National Palliative Care Strategy 2018 – Implementation Plan as required by the Australian Government.
Ongoing
Establish ongoing governance arrangements within Queensland Health, including but not limited to, consumer and First Nations representation, to provide oversight of implementation, monitoring and reporting for the Strategy.
Ongoing
Continue to support Palliative Care Queensland by providing funding for peak body services and advocacy activities.
Ongoing
Include palliative and end-of-life care needs as part of pandemic and other emergency preparedness, response and recovery planning.
Ongoing