Palliative Care WA welcomes the boost to palliative care funding

Palliative Care WA’s CEO, Ms Lana Glogowski has welcomed the announcement in today’s state budget of an additional $41 million for palliative care in 2019-2020.

Speaking on radio 6PR this morning Ms Glogowski said “this additional funding commitment is a good first step and will go some way to ensuring that all Western Australians who need it have access to quality palliative care at end of life.  We look forward to receiving more detail in the coming weeks about how this money will be allocated.”

Ms Glogowski highlighted the impact the baby boomer group will have on our health system and said “unless there is a significant injection of money and resources, people in this age group will not have early access to quality palliative care when required.

There is also a need to improve access to education for both our health providers and the community about what palliative care means and how wonderful palliative care can be for people with a life limiting illness.

She said that palliative care is not just a hospital-based service and mentioned the Silver Chain Hospice Care Service which operates in WA and gives people the opportunity to receive palliative care in their home.  Ms Glogowski also highlighted the potential of GPs being able to provide palliative care services to their patients if they have received appropriate training.

Residents in rural WA, as well as Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities are particularly underserved and we are delighted to see the commitment for an Aged and Palliative Care Facility in Carnarvon in the budget.

It’s still not clear from the budget papers what the remaining $34 million allocated to End of Life Choices and Palliative Care Services will mean for the sector.

While Palliative Care WA welcomes Minister Cook’s announcement of a summit on palliative care we are still keen to explore the establishment of an expert panel to help identify critical priorities for improving the understanding and delivery of quality palliative care across Western Australia.

Palliative Care WA looks forward to working with members of the CEO Roundtable on Palliative Care and the Minister for Health to determine the best way to utilise palliative care funding in WA.

View the PDF here

Listen to Lana’s interview on 6PR this morning (9 May)