Deputy Mayor Georgie Davies is urging Wagga and Riverina residents to think about palliative and end of life care arrangements early. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
The Palliative Care Enhancement Council will host a free forum at the Civic Theatre on 28 October to raise awareness and break the misconceptions around palliative care.
The Palliative Care Community Awareness Forum will explore what palliative care really means, how different illnesses are managed, patient experiences and how to plan for the future.
While the idea of preparation before death may seem daunting, Deputy Mayor Georgie Davies says it’s important to get everything in order while you’re not encumbered with pressures from treatment and dealing with a diagnosis.
“In general, people don’t think about end of life care and palliative care until they’re confronted with it,” she said.
“It’s really important to start that conversation now … where you’ve got your frame of mind that you can make these decisions without all of the pressures of treatment, dealing with the mental load of being diagnosed with a end of life illness or disease.”
In palliative care, a team of healthcare professionals work to relieve and manage symptoms such as chronic pain, and support a patient’s emotional, social and spiritual needs with the goal of improving their quality of life.
It’s not limited to the end of life and can be provided at any stage of a serious or life limiting illness, such as cancer, dementia or motor neurone disease.
Barriers patients face when seeking palliative care generally fall within administrative issues, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care, including lack of clear advance care planning and late transferrals or referrals – topics which the forum will address.
The free forum is for everyone in the Riverina region. Cr Davies said the forum would be an informative session for anybody who’d been diagnosed with a life limiting illness and their families.
“It’s going into legalities such as wills, banking, finance,” she said.
“We do a big segment on advanced care directive that’s really important for anyone that’s been diagnosed with a life limiting illness, or even before you’re diagnosed with a life limiting illness, to get that advanced care directive in place, because that really helps.”
Aside from raising awareness of palliative care planning, Cr Davies also wants to highlight the available support residents have in Wagga – including palliative care nurses and a specialist unit at Calvary Hospital, which are available for private and public patients.
“The forum will get everyone through what the options are,” she said.
“Don’t think of palliative care as going to die, or the final few weeks or days. If you embrace palliative care early on, as soon as you’ve got that life limiting diagnosis, then it will help you live your best life.
“Palliative care is really about working with all of your specialists to ensure you’ve got your symptoms under control, that your pain is managed [so] you can enjoy your last years, months, weeks, days of life without suffering.
“It ends up being a gift to you as a patient, but also a gift to your family.”
On top of experts in bereavement support, advance care planning and legal and financial affairs, the audience can also hear from a range of doctors, nurses and specialists, including Drs Martin Kennedy, Rachel Christmas, David Palmieri, Jane Hill, Professor Gerard Carroll and Jenny McKenzie.
The forum won’t be livestreamed, but a recording of the event will be made available on the Palliative Care Enhancement Council’s Facebook page.
The Palliative Care Community Awareness Forum will be held at the Wagga Civic Theatre on 28 October from 7 to 9:30 pm, but doors will be open at 6:30 pm. No RSVP is necessary.
