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Practice for sale formDementia Australia’s Nightingale Program is a specialist nurse-led support and palliative care service promoting choice, wellbeing and forward planning.
It is available free in locations across NSW, including in South Western Sydney, for people living with advanced dementia, their families and carers.
The program provides palliative care, education, advice and referrals to other services including to specialist palliative care teams for complex end-of-life care.
It works collaboratively with GPs, nurse practitioners, community palliative care teams, existing service providers and all allied health teams.
How it helps
Offering a specialist clinical nurse consultant as the single point of contact, the Nightingale Program develops care strategies to enable people living with dementia to:
- stay at home longer and maximise their independence
- promote quality of life and positive relationships
- have a voice in their future care options and decision making
- avoid unnecessary presentations to acute hospital settings
- have clinical advice including co-morbidity management, pain management, delirium and palliation
- receive advanced dementia care and family support
Its benefits are
- specialist, comprehensive nursing assessment and advice
- identifying current issues, anticipating changing needs
- referrals to other service providers as needed
- continuity of care, offering a single point of contact for guidance
- consultation in developing advance care planning for future health care needs
- education and emotional support for family and carers
The program supports people living in
- residential homes
- community settings
- residential aged care (typically during transition to care or in regional areas)
It is for people who are living with moderate to severe stages of dementia and require palliative support due to a change in symptoms, and in need of palliative support and/or assistance with planning for end-of-life care.
How to access the Nightingale Program
A GP referral is not required.
To access the program, patients can:
- call the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500 or
- use the online service enquiry/referral request form