Projects
Feel free to browse our projects below.
After Hours Project
Welcome to the December update on the AH Project for Community Palliative Care Services. The project began in August and will continue until June 2011. The focus of the first six months has been to scope current service delivery process across the regions.
All eleven Community Palliative Care services across both regions have been visited with their current status of AH service delivery for after hours documented. This process has highlighted much of the excellent work currently occurring, but also the need for consistent and strategic processes to support all involved in the delivery of AH palliative care.
The model being explored will develop systems that:
1. Enable and increase the capacity of patients / carers through further improved education, written care plans and patient information
2. Provide a formal rural After Hours Nursing Triage telephone system in several sites that each support regional community PC services.
3. Greatly reduce the need for home visits.
4. Implement technology to enhance current work practices for staff and greatly assist in the sharing of appropriate information across services.
Some challenges in the implementation of a new model are:
* Different IT capacity and programs across some services.
* The need to build on existing relationships between the PC community service and other primary care providers.
* Addressing the lack of resources for nursing staff
* Capacity of hospitals to include PC specific protocols (and some extra training) within their current AH system.
* Significant costs with the implementation of Information Technology
Evaluation of the After Hours Project.
The Monash University palliative care team, headed by Professor Margaret O’Connor, has been appointed to independently evaluate the project with Dr Heather Tan as project officer. The evaluation will include information about the service providers and the perception of stakeholders including staff, patients and carers as well as GP’s in some areas. Questionnaires will be distributed to these groups early in the study and after the new model is in place.
In February 2010, the first questionnaire to patients, carers and staff will be distributed to each service. All questionnaires are confidential and can be returned to Monash in supplied reply paid envelopes
Melanie Hahne from Wimmera Hospice has joined the project as a Clinical Support Officer. As a PC nurse with Wimmera Hospice, Melanie has been integral to the development of the Wimmera AH model that has recently been trialled and evaluated in their area. Many of the core components of this model comprise the structure currently being explored.
Six services will participate in rolling out the first stage of the model in February, by trialling the Patient / Carer Guidelines currently used in the Wimmera. Training will be delivered in locations central to these services.
Please feel free to email any ideas, questions and feedback from yourself and your team:
Palliative Care AH Project Manager
Jane Auchettl 0422 574 393 jane.ahproject@gmail.com
Nurse Practitioners in Palliative Care
Ballarat Health Services has appointed a Nurse Practitioner in Palliative Care Candidate. The aim of the role is to provide services across the inpatient and community sectors (including aged care), supports links between the sectors and delivers palliative care in outpatient clinics.
NP scholarships ($6,000) are also available for nurses employed by BHS, to assist with the costs associated with undertaking courses of study that lead to endorsement as a NP within the palliative care specialty. Courses include Master of Nursing, or pharmacology modules.
Further support for those wishing to pursue this career path is also available via government funded scholarships, and additional study leave from BHS.
For more information follow the links
Nurses Board of Victoria - Nurse Practitioner
Nursing in Victoria - Nurse Practitioner
or contact
Tara Haneveld
Nurse Practitioner Project Worker
Phone: 0401 2424 87
Email: tarah@bhs.org.au
Medical Training Project
This project is funded by the Australian General Practice Network through the Ballarat Division of GPs. The project worker, Paula Desnoy has been worker on a number of different projects, including bringing to Ballarat the successful "Four funerals in one day" play starring Alan Hopgood. Paula worked together with Ballarat Hospice Care to delivery two performances that was successful both as a fund raiser and for promoting an understanding of palliative care.
Paula is now working on the development of multidisciplinary team meetings; a "doctors bag" that is a quick reference and information on palliative care for GPs; an education session in adolecent palliative care.
For further information on any of these iniatives please contact Paula Wednesday aftertoon to Friday on: 5331 6303 or email paulad@bddgp.org.au.