03 August 2020
Funding for our Peace of Mind Project extended by 12 months
Dementia is the leading cause of death among women and the second leading cause of death among all Australians. In South Western Sydney, an estimated 10,513 were living with dementia in 2016 and this is expected to grow by 84.2 per cent to 19,367 by 2031.
Despite the prevalence of dementia, the condition is not well recognised as a life-limiting illness by community or health professionals in South Western Sydney, and people with dementia can find it difficult to access palliative care.
In response, SWSPHN developed the Peace of Mind Project (POMP).
The project’s work is delivering education to the community and health professionals, development of a model of care and HealthPathway for a palliative approach to caring for people with dementia and providing palliative care quality improvement within residential aged care.
Last Thursday, 30 July, the Department of Health announced a 12-month extension to the project which has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What are POMP’s objectives?
POMP aims to develop an integrated, person-centred model of end-of-life planning and palliative care delivered in the place of their choice; increase timely diagnosis of dementia; promote early engagement with palliative care education; promote early engagement with Advance Care Planning; to increase community health and death literacy; and develop an approach to Compassionate Communities.
What work has been done on POMP so far?
Working with PACCS
In 2018 we worked with the Palliative Aged Care Consultancy Service (PACCS) to identify stakeholders and undertake stakeholder consultation, review literature and write a discussion paper. Last year, working groups were formed and PACCS facilitated meetings where members worked together to develop a vision and a model of improvement to guide ongoing work on the Model of Care development.
Model of Care and HealthPathway development
Considerable work has been completed to further develop our resources for health professionals on HealthPathways. The Cognitive Impairment and Dementia pathway has been refined to form three pathways: Cognitive Impairment, Dementia and End-Stage Dementia. We now have a small working group developing the proposed Model of Care which will be released with the new pathways. The project team will then be working with interested general practices and residential aged care facilities on implementation.
Community information sessions
In 2019, we hosted five well-received information sessions. Following this positive response, we teamed up with three local councils to repeat our community information sessions. In February this year we had a great turnout at our discussion and information session, Dementia is NOT a normal part of ageing, hosted with Campbelltown City Council at Campbelltown during the NSW Seniors Festival.
Participants had the opportunity to learn about:
- Dementia including what it is, how it can affect future decision-making and prevention
- Advance Care Planning – what this is and why it is important for people with dementia
- Palliative care – it is for people with dementia too and not only about dying or cancer
- What decision should I know about organ and tissue donation.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the remaining two planned events. These will be rescheduled once it is safe to have a large gathering of senior community members.
Palliative Care quality improvement in residential aged care
POMP partnered with the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaborative (PCOC) based at Wollongong University and two aged care facilities in our region to participate in a national trial of the assessment tools and protocols developed by PCOC. These tools and protocols improve outcomes for elderly people needing palliative care and provide vital data and reporting.
This activity has been postponed due the COVID-19 pandemic.
CPD
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to our CPD schedule for 2020. In June, we hosted a workshop on embedding Advance Care Planning into everyday general practice. The workshop was delivered by The Advance Project and was well received by 47 participating GPs, practice nurses and practice managers. More events will be provided in the future to complement our community education activities.
Why is Advance Care Planning important?
An important part of healthy ageing is being prepared for future events. Advance Care Planning is preparing for future health events in advance so that if you are unable to make decisions for yourself or are unable to communicate the care and treatment you would want, others know what your values and choices would be. It all begins with talking which isn’t always easy. Advance Care Planning Australia can provide more information and ideas to help you or someone you know talk. To visit their website.
If you’d like more information about the Peace of Mind Project, email Anne Harley at anne.harley@swsphn.com.au.
