The Department of Health has launched a campaign to raise awareness and improve understanding of palliative care in the community.
Called This is Palliative Care, the campaign urges Western Australians to engage with palliative care services soon after diagnosis of incurable illness to ensure they enjoy the life they love, with the people they love, for as long as possible.
Clinical Lead, Palliative Care at the Department, Alison Parr said many people believed palliative care was only for the last few weeks of life.
“However, when accessed early, palliative care services can enhance the quality of a person’s life through interventions such as symptom management, counselling and support to meet cultural obligations,” Dr Parr said.
“Palliative care is not only for the elderly, it is for people of any age who have been diagnosed with a progressive serious illness that cannot be cured.”
She said planning ahead empowered people to shape the care provided to them and to live their best life for longer.
“Palliative care includes providing support for the person and their loved ones from a range of health professionals and making and sharing decisions and plans with appropriate people to help ensure that what matters most to the individual remains everyone’s priority,” Dr Parr said.
“Palliative care is not just for end-of-life, it can sometimes span years, for example, to manage pain. In some circumstances, it can even extend a person’s life,” she said.
She said to learn about palliative care and end-of-life decision making, readers can visit this website.
