About our palliative care services
Our specialist palliative care focuses on supporting patients who are approaching or reaching the end of their life. Our services help patients achieve dignity, comfort and maximise the quality of life for the patient, family and loved ones.
Healthcare professionals in hospitals and care facilities across our district offer this service, with specialised staff available to help with complex issues. We collaborate with other healthcare professionals to make sure that the care is well coordinated.
We provide Palliative Care as an inpatient service, at home or in residential facilities. Patients can be admitted for pain and symptom management, respite care or terminal care.
We help people with serious illnesses that can't be cured, like cancer or motor neurone disease. Palliative care aims to manage symptoms and improve life quality. Some might start this care right after diagnosis, even during treatments to extend life.
If you have questions about palliative care, contact your local health facility and ask for the palliative care nurse. You can also visit Palliative Care Australia for more information.
Specialist Palliative Care Services are available across the Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD). They provide services to all communities and facilities in the district. To find the service in your area, contact your local health facility or use our Service directory.
Palliative care specialists can provide a range of care and support including:
- advising and supporting the primary care team
- managing distressing symptoms
- specialist palliative care inpatient service
- offering home visits if necessary
- providing equipment to support the patient to stay in the home setting as long as possible
- providing a 24-hour telephone advice
- supporting the bereaved
- teaching the family how to care for the patient.
Paediatric Palliative Care Service
The Paediatric Palliative Care Service at the John Hunter Children's Hospital provides support to children and young people from the Hunter New England district with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness.
We also provide education, advice and support to health care professionals providing care to our young patients.
Our paediatric palliative care specialists can provide a range of care and support including:
- specialist paediatric palliative care doctor
- paediatric registrar
- senior nurse
- senior occupational therapist
- senior social worker
- bereavement co-ordinator
- volunteers.
Our paediatric palliative care service team will first need a referral from a medical practitioner, when we have the patient referral, the existing healthcare professionals will continue to be the primary health-care providers to the patient and family. We will meet with the patient, family and treating health-care professionals to learn more about the current and likely future issues. This meeting may involve a home visit.
Ongoing care from us may be:
- directly via home visits, out-patient clinics, phone or video calls
- as a consulting team if the patient is admitted to hospital
- indirectly via regular contact with local general practitioners, general and specialist paediatricians and adult palliative care services who provide care to the child or young person.
The level of support needed will be different between each patient and family or carer.
Our service can support a patient to be cared for at home at the end of life if that is what the patient, family and carers wish. If hospitalisation is needed, our service can help with the management of symptoms and transfer to a hospital ward setting.
Our service will also help provide grief support for families or carers whose child has been referred to our us and has since passed away.
Contact us
Once you have a referral for our service, you can phone and a leave a message with our office on (02)4921 3387 or email PaedPallCare@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au and one of our team members will contact you.
Additional resource
Become a volunteer
Our team of palliative care volunteers help patients and their families by providing support, care, and a listening ear.
Find out how you can volunteer
Aboriginal Supportive Care "Into the dreaming"
Supportive Care “Into the Dreaming” (PDF 9.26MB) is a palliative care guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples through, “Sorry Business”.
The guide offers culturally sensitive, respectful and appropriate ways of communication when dealing with health care and Sorry Business with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Our Palliative Care services aim to help patients, families and community to maintain dignity, comfort and make the most of the quality of life for all affected by life threatening illness.
Contact the Aboriginal Health Unit
Supportive or palliative care is a way of improving quality of life of patients and families facing life-threatening illness.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples must have a genuine say in their own lives and matters that affect their people and community. Palliative care brings together many different services including:
- Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer
- Aboriginal Health Worker
- family doctor
- aged and community care worker
- spiritual healer
- palliative care doctor or nurse.
Supportive or palliative care can help you access:
- assistance to Live Well – symptom control, pain relief, diet and exercise, relaxation, goal setting, comfort care
- rehabilitation services
- equipment to make your home safer
- physical, emotional, spiritual, financial and social support
- care in your own home, acute hospital or palliative care unit
- carer support and counselling
- bereavement support
- patient and family education
- dying with dignity in the location of your choice.
Supportive or palliative care is about being as comfortable and active as you can when you have a serious illness.
You do not have to be “dying” to have supportive or palliative care. In fact, palliative care can help you at any time you have pain or symptoms with a serious illness, it is also a support for your family and community when you’re sick. Being looked after by palliative care does not make people die faster, palliative care can help people function better and have better moods.
It is usually organised by your doctor or nurse, but you and your family can ask for a referral if you’d like one.
You can have supportive or palliative care at home, in a hospital or at a hospice (palliative care unit). Hospice is more home-like than hospital. Both hospice and hospital offer care by trained staff. You can move between these places if your needs change. You can stay for a short or long time.
Often the person and their family and friends can choose where to have palliative care. It may depend on what is available in your area. If you are cared for at home, special services can help you and your family with medical support, nursing care and equipment hire.
The service is usually free; however, you may sometimes have to help pay for special equipment or medications.
Planning ahead
Putting your family in a position of having to make decisions for you, without knowing what you would want, can be difficult for them.
Planning ahead means making plans so you are looked after if circumstances change through your life. Your rights and wishes can be respected if they are properly documented.
You can make decisions for yourself about your money, belongings and health care. You can also have your say about medical treatment near the end of life. Find out more about planning ahead.
Advance care yarning
Having your say about your future medical treatment is called advance care yarning.
This process involves thinking about your values, beliefs, choices and what matters to you. This gives family, doctors nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers the opportunity to respect your choices.
It is best if advance care yarning happens earlier in life, while you are still well. It can involve:
- yarning about your choices
- writing down your choices in an advance care plan
- appointing one of your people as an Enduring Guardian
- making an Advance Care Directive.
Find a palliative care health service
Use our Service Directory to find a health service near you.
Virtual care appointments
Virtual care (telehealth) uses technology to offer patients and consumers a convenient way to connect with health professionals. Virtual care has many benefits for patients, carers and health professionals. Learn more about virtual care.
Contact Hunter New England LHD
We welcome your questions, feedback, compliments, and information requests. Contact us, and we'll be happy to assist you. Your input is important to us.