As a GP, you play a crucial role in guiding patients and their families through the often-overwhelming journey of palliative care. To support you in this role, South Australia has introduced Palliative Care Connect, a navigation model designed to link patients, carers, and clinicians with the right services and pathways. This service can be a vital resource when you’re uncertain about available supports or need additional guidance for your patients.

Palliative Care Connect needs your feedback to improve its impact on primary care. Your insights will shape this program to better support you and your patients. As a thank you, eligible participants will receive a $30 Amazon.com.au Gift Card.

We had the privilege of interviewing Kate Swetenham, Mariana Ricci, and Amber Bisset from SA Health’s Palliative Care Connect Team. They shared valuable insights about the Palliative Care Connect Pilot in South Australia and its significant benefits for healthcare providers and their patients. Here’s what they had to say.

What is Palliative Care Connect?

Palliative Care Connect is a pioneering navigation model being piloted in South Australia. Its primary goal is to link patients, carers, and clinicians with the right services and pathways to support end-of-life care. Designed to connect people with much-needed resources, it helps ease the often-overwhelming journey through palliative care.

Kate, Director of Nursing, End of Life Care at SA Health, who is one of the key figures behind this initiative, offers a fitting analogy:

“Think of it like this – you have a mechanic who regularly services your car, but then one day, you’re on a drive to Victor Harbour, and your car suddenly breaks down. In that moment, you don’t call your mechanic; you call the RAA to get you moving again. That’s what Palliative Care Connect is – not a replacement for your GP or palliative care specialists, but the service you turn to when you’re stuck and need help finding the right path.”

It’s crucial to understand that Palliative Care Connect doesn’t duplicate existing services. Instead, it offers varied and essential services, including:

Navigation Services

  • A statewide navigation service
  • Regional navigation service
  • Aboriginal navigation service

24/7 Navigation website

  • Providing resources and helpful links in a self-service format
  • Self-assessment tool for the creation of a personalised resource list
  • An online form to get a call back outside of operating hours

Partnership with Latrobe University HELP app

  • The app provides empowerment to regular people to build a support network around them.

Grief and Bereavement

  • Bereavement navigation service
  • Bereavement groups and sessions

The vision for Palliative Care Connect was sparked by a former South Australian Senator who, after his own challenging palliative care experience, recognised the need for change. Despite having a high level of health literacy, he found navigating the system distressing and overwhelming. He envisioned a service that would support people in similar situations, ensuring they feel less isolated and more guided during the difficult end-of-life journey. Palliative Care Connect is the legacy of that vision, aiming to provide compassionate and streamlined support when it’s needed most.

Kate and the team stressed that this suite of services is running adjunct to existing palliative care services in the community, for example, Palliative Care Connect can provide support and resources for people that might not yet qualify for specialist palliative care.

Palliative Care Connect has been set up to support and empower people in palliative care, people supporting or caring for someone in palliative care and those treating people in palliative care.

Mariana, manager of the end-of-life care team at SA Health advised that feedback received from service users has indicated that after speaking with the navigation service they felt less stressed and better supported which then had a follow-on effect to their family and friends.

When setting up the pilot, the team prioritised creating measurement tools from the outset. A program logic with defined outcomes was developed, and data collection was integrated through the statewide navigation service’s CRM. This allows navigators to report observed outcomes at the conclusion of a support period. Additionally, a survey was created for service users, which measures satisfaction, understanding of palliative care, and provides the option to consent to further contact for quality improvement and research purposes. This process has generated detailed feedback, including case studies and testimonials, which help measure the program’s impact.

Additionally, SA Health has partnered with GPEx to evaluate the impact of Palliative Care Connect on Primary Care. To facilitate this evaluation, we are inviting GPs, GP Registrars, and Nurses to participate in a brief survey and a remunerated research interview.
Learn more about the program here

What you need to know as a GP:

Palliative Care Connect is a resource you can provide to your patients and their families but is also a resource you can use in cases where the pathway is unclear, or you are not sure what other supports are available for your patient.

GPEx recently hosted a 2-part educational webinar series with esteemed Dr Chris Moy. These sessions offered valuable tips for managing palliative care and demonstrated practical applications through case studies, including interactions with Palliative Care Connect. Access the webinar recordings here.

What’s next and where to get more information:

The Palliative Care Connect team are currently working hard to spread awareness and boost engagement within the sector. You’ll see them at conferences, intersecting with palliative care and aged care support services across the state, as well as mailouts to Practices.

If you would like to get more information or request any brochures to have available for your practice you can contact healthcarepcnavigation@sa.gov.au.

The SA Health team piloting Palliative Care Connect has been collaborating with equivalent teams across other states and territories to assess its scalability. They are seeking continued funding from the Commonwealth after the pilot ends, with a critical focus on understanding the impact of Palliative Care Connect on Primary Health.

Palliative Care Connect is a service dedicated to empowering individuals throughout their palliative care journey in South Australia.

By offering essential navigation services and resources, it supports patients, carers, and clinicians in accessing the right assistance at critical moments. This initiative not only empowers those at the end of life but also aims to mitigate the stress and confusion often associated with navigating complex care pathways.

As the program continues to evolve, its positive impact is evident, with users reporting reduced stress and improved support.

The future of Palliative Care Connect looks promising as it seeks to expand its reach and secure ongoing funding, ensuring that more individuals and healthcare providers can benefit from this vital service. To contribute to this work, GPEx invites you to take part in an 8-minute survey to share your experience as a healthcare professional in utilising services available through Palliative Care Connect.

Participants are eligible to receive a $30 Amazon.com.au Gift Card upon completion.

Complete survey here