Your local HealthPathways site for ACT and Southern NSW or Illawarra Shoalhaven provide information on end of life and palliative care services.

COORDINARE has developed the following guides in recognition of the growing demand on palliative care services within the region, and the critical role that GPs can play in supporting palliative and end of life care (please note - these Models of Care are currently under review, some content may not be current):

• A palliative and end-of-life model of care for Illawarra Shoalhaven
• Considerations for a palliative and end-of-life model of care for Southern NSW 

Palliative care NSW have also created resources to assist GPs with referring: 

• When to refer. 
• How to refer. 

View the Southern NSW palliative care resource document for information on understanding a patient's needs and requirements for ongoing care, and the services available to support your patient and their carers.

You can also find more clinical support websites and resources for GPs and other health professionals below.

Resources

• Advance Care Planning flyer - COORDINARE, Advance Care Planning Australia
• CareSearch GP resources
• CareSearch Primary Health Care - provides evidence-based guidance and resources to assist primary care professionals in delivering quality palliative care within community settings.
• Community pharmacy supportive services information Southern NSW / Illawarra Shoalhaven - COORDINARE, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
• End of Life Directions for Aged Care provides information, guidance, and resources
• Health practitioners guide to paramedics' role in palliative care fact sheet
• LGBTIQ+ Health Australia's 'Cycle of Invisibility' resource highlights the need for more education about LGBTIQ+ people living in aged care
• NSW Clinical Excellence Commission's ‘Last days of life' toolkit provides resources to ensure a dying patient receives optimal care
• NSW Health's Advance Care Directive form and information booklet provides advance care planning advice
• NSW Health's Core palliative care medicines list for NSW Community Pharmacy
• The CareSearchgp app supports GPs in delivering quality palliative care across the life course. It brings together guidance on terminal prescribing for specific symptoms and evidence-based information on key care issues
• palliAGED - evidence-based guidance, practical tools, and training to support palliative care in aged care settings
• Palliative Care Australia and Palliative Care NSW are the national and state peak bodies promoting quality palliative care
• RACGP palliative and end-of-life care
• Symptom Control in Palliative Care 6^th Edition Dr Benjamin Thomas with Dr Roger Cole, Palliative Care Service Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD
• Therapeutic Guidelines: Palliative care is essential for practitioners / carers involved in the management of patients with life-limiting illnesses.

Grief and bereavement online courses:

• The Australian College for Rural and Remote Medicine (ACCRM) Grief and Bereavement online course takes participants through the process of grieving and bereavement, exploring theories of grief and the effects of grief on a person’s life. The course incorporates communication strategies for responding to those who are grieving and example conversations to support the bereaved. These modules were developed by the ACCRM and is supported by funding from COORDINARE - South Eastern NSW PHN. GPs and other health professionals who work in COORDINARE’s catchment are eligible to access the course for free via the use of a discount code. Please contact info@coordinare.org.au for more information. Learn more here.
• The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) Grief and Bereavement online course for nurses introduces grief and bereavement, explores grief disorders and considerations for the bereaved, teaches communication strategies for supporting those who are grieving, and offers guidance on finding referral pathways and conducting conversations with the bereaved. This module was developed by APNA and is supported by funding from COORDINARE - South Eastern NSW PHN. Learn more here.

Below are some training resources which may be helpful for learning about palliative and end of life care:

• Advance Care Planning Australia Learning free eLearning hub
• CareSearch Health Practitioner education summarises the available learning resources—including online modules, short courses, and workforce development tools, to help health professionals build skills and confidence in providing quality palliative care
• Indigenous Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (IPEPA) is a grassroots approach to breaking down the barriers to palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia
• palliAGED Training and Education summarises the available evidence-based training resources to help the aged care workforce build skills and confidence in delivering quality palliative care across care settings.
• Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) provides workplace training, workshops and support networks for GPs, nurses, and allied health
• The Advance Project empowers aged and primary care professionals to initiate advance care planning and palliative care
• The Palliative Care Bridge delivers educational videos and resources for health professionals
• The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia provides online palliative care training for pharmacists.

What is palliative Care? 

Developed by Hunter New England and Central Coast PHN - May 2023. Join presenter Charles Broadfoot from the PHN as he talks all things Palliative Care with Dr Ashwin Kaniah GP and Palliative Care Trainee, Angela Martin, Nurse Practitioner and Kylie Hutchinson, Death Doula.

Dying to Know Day 2024

Dying to Know Day is a national annual campaign that’s aimed at shifting the narrative around death, dying and end of life planning. In 2024 COORDINARE - South Eastern NSW PHN held a free community event in Shellharbour to coincide with Dying to Know Day. The event provided community members and health professionals with the opportunity to learn, ask questions, and feel empowered to openly and compassionately explore topics related to death and dying. 

Voluntary Assisted Dying webinars

My professional experience with Voluntary Assisted Dying as a rural/regional palliative care physician.

Developed by COORDINARE - South Eastern NSW PHN - May 2023.