An innovative south west Sydney palliative care program called PEACH supports people with a terminal illness who wish to die at home.
Support includes personal care during the day, a visit from an evening registered nurse and video conference support with a night nurse as patients reach the end of their life.
Run by the South Western Sydney Local Health District, PEACH was named the winner in the Patients as Partners category of the 17th annual NSW Health Awards.
The PEACH team accepted the honour at the NSW Health Awards gala dinner held last Monday.
SWSLHD Palliative Care and Service Development manager Janeane Harlum said the PEACH program allowed family members to stay with their loved one in the comfort of their home.
“The PEACH Program is flexible and can be tailored to the needs of each person, which means they can get end of life care at home instead of having to go into hospital,’’ Ms Harlum said.
“We have received excellent feedback from patients, carers and staff regarding the PEACH program and the innovative after hours support service, which enables clients to use a tablet device for support via videoconference or teleconference.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“The program is a true collaboration between hospital and community palliative care services and we know carers really appreciate the way the services work together to deliver personalised healthcare,” she said.[/social_quote]
A few days before the awards, NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner announced funding for additional packages for people with a terminal illness living in south western Sydney, Nepean, Blue Mountains and Illawarra Shoalhaven, who wish to die in the comfort of their own home.
The announcement was made at the launch of a new PEACH Program DVD, which has been developed to promote the service to clinicians including general practitioners, clients and carers.
The PEACH program was piloted by SWSLHD and run in collaboration with not-for-profit health care provider Silver Chain, was launched across five local health districts.
Referrals are coordinated by the SWSLHD’s central intake, information and intervention centre at the Triple I (Hub), ensuring the patient is properly set up at home with the appropriate equipment and medications and patient referrals to other services can be coordinated.
♦ The South Western Sydney Local Health District annual public meeting will be held at 2pm on Thursday, December 3 at Bankstown Arts Centre, 5 Olympic Parade, Bankstown. The meeting will offer those attending the chance to meet and chat with SWSLHD Board Members and to hear about the activities of the local health district, including highlights from the past financial year and audited financial statements. They will also have the opportunity to ask questions of the SWSLHD Board Chair, Professor Phillip Harris and Chief Executive, Amanda Larkin. Community members are able to register for the meeting by calling 9828 6848 or emailing swsmedia@sswahs.nsw.gov.au.
