Pathway for palliative care

When you, or someone you love, is confronted with a life-limiting illness knowing there are high-quality palliative care providers in your area can help ease the burden.

Barwon South Western Region Palliative Care Consortium and the six health organisations it comprises are here to help you during your palliative care journey.  Staff can guide you through questions about palliative care and hospice care, what support services are available and how to access that help. Your GP is also a focal starting point.

Palliative care can be part of your support program from early in a diagnosis of a wide range of life-limiting illnesses including cancer, motor neurone disease and other end-stage diseases. It can go hand-in-hand with active treatments, such as chemotherapy, and can play a pivotal role in supporting you, your family members and carers during management of your illness.

People can receive the care in a range of environments including their own homes, aged-care facilities, hospitals or hospices.

It’s important to know support is out there for both clients and carers. You are not alone. There are many health professionals who come together in palliative care environments with the goal of improving a client’s quality of life and supporting those around them.

For people with a life-limiting illness, either at the beginning of their journey or near the end, having a dedicated team to help manage your symptoms, help you plan your care pathway and enhance your quality of life is critical.

For carers, who are quite often family, knowing there is a support network of professionals and trained volunteers out there to give you practical support is a comfort and relief.

From specialist palliative care staff to GPs, allied health professionals and highly-trained volunteers, they are all part of the Palliative Care team that covers the Barwon South Western Region.