Blog

Care provider ability to recognising when a person is at risk of deteriorating or dying is an important skill in providing quality care. Dr David Marco describes the findings of a research study into nurses’ use of one prognostic tool – SPICT – on general medicine wards.

Caregivers of individuals with advanced dementia frequently resort to emergency departments for symptom management when palliative care services are inaccessible. Dr Janice Du Preez shares insights from an ongoing trial aimed at uncovering the barriers driving ED admissions and impeding access to specialised palliative care for people living with dementia in both home and residential settings.

Dementia is a life-limiting condition, yet the palliative care needs of people living with dementia often go unrecognised and unassessed. Wendy Hall explains the role of the Dementia Doula, a model of care that ensures people with dementia and their families receive high-quality, responsive, and person-centred palliative care in community and aged care settings.

Assessing and documenting the palliative care needs and preferences of people with life-limiting illness is important yet challenging if based on complex, lengthy assessment tools. This blog describes a more flexible approach that uses an evidence-based aide-memoire – POMSNAME. This tool has already demonstrated improvements in testing with community health nurses. 

Dr Sara Karacsony describes the Namaste Care program—a person-centred approach to bringing calm, comfort and connection to people living with advanced dementia