精东传媒

November 15, 2022

Older Australians to benefit from new centre to improve end of life care

Palliative Aged Care Outcomes Program launched by UOW

The Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI) at the 精东传媒 of 精东传媒 (UOW) launched an innovative new program to improve end of life care for older Australians today (Tuesday 15 November 2022).

The Palliative Aged Care Outcomes Program (PACOP) is AHSRI鈥檚 newest outcomes centre. The program was established in November 2021 after the Federal Government awarded AHSRI $8.9 million in funding over three years.

National Director of PACOP Professor Claire Johnson said the new program provides a consistent and nationally agreed framework for residential aged care to drive resident, provider, policy and system-level improvements in palliative and end of life care.

鈥淎pproximately 60,000 people living in residential aged care homes die each year and this accounts for more than one in three people who die in Australia,鈥� Professor Johnson said.

鈥淧ACOP aims to improve the outcomes for all Australians in aged care homes, with a particular focus on those who are approaching the end of their life.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been trialling and refining PACOP's framework and resources over the last 12 months and we鈥檙e now focusing on making the program available to more than 2,700 aged care homes throughout Australia.鈥�

Professor Johnson said the feedback from aged care homes who have already adopted PACOP has been very positive.

鈥淎ged care homes have told us that professional and non-professional staff are commenting on the program鈥檚 impact and how much it benefits residents,鈥� Professor Johnson said.

鈥淧ACOP helps aged care homes to embed the use of standardised outcomes assessments and tools, and to use the information gathered to respond in a timely way.

鈥淭eams have told us PACOP has been their roadmap and they appreciate having a set of national tools to go to in times of need.鈥�

UOW Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Patricia M. Davidson welcomed AHSRI鈥檚 newest program.

鈥淚t is so important that people approaching the end of their life are treated with dignity and given the high-quality care that they need,鈥� Professor Davidson said.

鈥淭he Palliative Aged Care Outcomes Program will draw on AHSRI鈥檚 extensive expertise and play a key role in improving the quality of palliative care in residential aged care throughout Australia.鈥�

In the Australian Government鈥檚 response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care鈥檚 recommendations, palliative and end-of-life care were concerns singled out for immediate attention.

鈥淲e are thrilled to be able to continue our work in this area beyond the initial pilot and look forward to demonstrating greater benefits and having a sustainable impact on this population as PACOP is implemented nationally,鈥� Professor Johnson said.

AHSRI has extensive networks across the aged care and health sectors which provide a strong platform for the establishment and integration of PACOP into routine practice for people who are dying in residential aged care.

PACOP has benefited from being able to build upon the achievements of its sister outcome centre at AHSRI, the well-established and internationally acclaimed Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) which has contributed to significant improvements in palliative care in the acute and sub-acute areas of health.

Residential aged care facilities, organisations and individuals interested in knowing more about PACOP or who are interested in participating in PACOP are encouraged to look at the PACOP website and make contact via email (pacop-enquiries@uow.edu.au).