South East NSW RPC Project
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ABOUT THE REGION
Population: 33,137 people (Eurobodalla Shire)
Area: 3,402.2km2
Features:
- Majority of those receiving palliative care services are in aloder age groups
- Approximately 22% are aged 65 years or older, significantly more than the NSW average of 13.6%
- Popular retirement destination
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Advisory Committee Members:
Vi Quin, Sue Konjevic, Suzanne Blogg and
Dr Martin Carlson
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REASONS FOR THE PROGRAM
- A lack of service coordination.
- Inconsistent access to palliative care support, especially after hours.
- Minimal access to ongoing loss and grief support to bereaved relatives and carers.
- Limited access to specialist disciplines within the local area.
- The closest specialist Palliative Care service is located at Calvary Hospital in Canberra, some 200kms from the Eurobodalla area.
- Limited access to loss and grief support for bereaved relatives and carers is available in the target area, however carers, partners and families are not followed up in a co-ordinated way.
- Access to after-hours care is ad hoc and variable, with limited care on offer through nursing services and general practitioners who provide an 'on call' service to their patients. Other patients may choose to access the Emergency Department of either Bateman?s Bay or Moruya hospitals.
CULTURAL ISSUES
- The number of people in the Eurobodalla area of indigenous origin is 1,378.
- This represents approximately 33% of the total identified indigenous population of South East NSW.
- The cultural considerations relevant to the ATSI population surrounding palliative care, death and illness are a particular challenge in the Shire with anecdotal evidence indicating that people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background infrequently access mainstream palliative care services.
- Specific activities to increase access to and awareness of palliative care services within the region will be developed through the project.
For further information on this project please contact: South East NSW Division of General Practice on 02 4474 5100, email: division@senswdgp.com.au
