Palliative Care is everyone’s right

In the lead up to and during the 2022 Federal Election, Palliative Care Australia will be seeking a commitment from political parties for greater government investment in palliative care to meet the rapidly rising demand across the country.

With our population growing and ageing, the need for palliative care services across Australia is expected to increase by 50% between now and 2035, and double by 2050.  And not surprisingly the pandemic has seen the demand for palliative care spike… but with no additional funding.

Palliative Care Australia makes the point that while there are excellent palliative care services throughout Australia, there has been chronic under-investment across parts of the health system.  A comprehensive KPMG analysis on the economics of palliative care has shown that adequate investment in palliative care will help reduce the burden on the health care system and ultimately provide a positive return by reducing emergency department visits and hospital stays.

Palliative Care Australia has developed a Roadmap which sets out the investment needed in Palliative care over the next five years to ensure that Australians have access to high-quality palliative care where and when they need it.  They have also released a Federal Election Statement 2022 to guide decision-makers in the direction that Australia needs to take.