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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-06 Daily Xml
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World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

Mr DULUK (Waite) (15:42): I rise to discuss World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, which was held on Saturday 13 October. The World Health Organization defines 'palliative care' as:

…an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.

The focus of palliative care is about ensuring that an individual has dignity not only in dying but in dignified living right until the end of life. On October 18, I co-hosted a World Hospice and Palliative Care Day morning tea with the member for Kaurna, and I thank the member for Kaurna for his willingness to join me in bringing this important issue to the attention of our colleagues in this place. Our guests were from Palliative Care SA, the peak body for palliative care in South Australia. CEO, Tracey Watters, and her team do a tremendous job in upholding the principles of, and offering practical solutions in, palliative care to South Australians facing terminal illness.

I would also like to recognise and commend the important role of health workers, trained volunteers and all those involved in delivering quality palliative care to terminally ill South Australians. Palliative care cannot be delivered without their commitment and dedication. The morning tea was a chance to hear from people who have experienced palliative care and how a support system helps patients to live as actively as possible. It was a privilege to listen to the story of Su Seymour, who described her journey together with her daughter Jade, who became ill and sadly passed away at the age of 22.

Before a palliative care team assisted with Jade's care, Ms Seymour was overwhelmed and had a lot of difficulty in controlling Jade's pain. Su was Jade's main carer and was holding down a full-time job at the same time. When it was suggested a palliative care team could assist her, Ms Seymour was initially horrified. However, the team assessed Jade's needs and gave fantastic professional and emotional help throughout the whole journey. Ms Seymour told us, and I quote: 'It was not about waiting for Jade to die, it was at this stage that I realised that palliative care was about living.'

Having the support allowed Ms Seymour to be a mum to Jade, not just an overwhelmed carer. Providing high-quality palliative care in a range of settings, including in the home, is critical to ensuring that patients and their carers have their wishes respected. Palliative care goes beyond resuscitation. It also focuses on and addresses the broad array of concerns shared by dying patients and their families, such as fear about dying, understanding prognosis, achieving important end-of-life goals, and attending to physical needs.

Our challenge is to recognise that, with an ageing population in South Australia, the demand on palliative care services will increase, and that is very much the case both in Adelaide and the greater CBD and in many country areas as well. For many years I have been a strong proponent of increasing support to enhance services in palliative care, and I am very pleased that the state Liberal government is committed to improving palliative care options for South Australians.

The South Australian Liberal government went to the March 2018 election with a palliative care policy, and we committed to this policy in the recent state budget. We are investing $16 million in palliative care services by providing 24/7 community outreach services, undertaking a statewide assessment of unmet need for palliative care and palliative services and establishing a statewide clinical network that will codesign and deliver a new palliative care service plan. Our policy is designed to help people manage pain and illness with dignity and assist them to live the last period of their life in accordance with their wishes.

The state Liberal government is making substantial investments in palliative care in a planned and systemic way together with those who work in that industry on a daily basis. World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is a united day of action to support hospice and palliative care around the world and to create opportunities to speak out about this important issue. Broaching the subject can be daunting; however, good communication can facilitate the development of a comprehensive treatment plan that considers a patient's wishes and values. Fears can be allayed, pain and suffering can be minimised and most end-of-life issues can be resolved comfortably and with dignity.

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