Specialised Palliative Care Services

HNA has a specialised palliative care service available to all clients. HNA believe that 'Palliative care is the provision of physical, emotional and spiritual care for patients with life limiting illnesses, and for their families.' Incorporating an inclusive nursing service, with transparency and patient focus care is important to us. Our experienced nurses will be able to provide a individual care plan and implement care as requested by client or clients family. HNA responds to private requests for palliative care services and by referral for any Department of Veteran Affairs clients and families for palliative care. "We care for you" is our lifestyle, we bring quality care to you or your loved one when most needed. Interdisciplinary care is an important part of the HNA Palliative care model, which ensures our team work together to help with end of life care in the most caring, understanding, open manner we can.

Specialised Palliative Care Nursing

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Nurses historical role

Of all the health professions, nurses spend the greatest period of time with patients at the end of their lives. As a result, nurses are uniquely placed to shape and improve the delivery of palliative care services around the world.

Defining Palliative Care

At HNA we work within the World Health Organization’s definition of palliative care as a tool 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.’

Nursing palliative approach

While many palliative care nurses have specialist skills and training, many of our nurses incorporate a palliative approach, in caring for patients who are nearing the end of life. A palliative approach is about improving a patient’s quality of life across all domains, rather than an emphasis on physical symptoms alone.

Multi Disciplinary care

Nurses deliver palliative care in a wide range of settings, from homes and residential aged care facilities to hospitals and hospices. One of the defining features of palliative care is that it’s uniquely interdisciplinary – nurses work alongside a range of other health professionals, such as medical specialists, social workers, counsellors, physiotherapists, and pastoral or spiritual caregivers.

Family supporting

As well as supporting patients, nurses engaged in palliative care also work closely with clients family members. This can include helping families to take on a caring role; helping them make decisions with, or on behalf of, the patient; and providing comfort in the lead up to, and after, the patient’s death. Supporting families can make a lasting difference to of the end-of-life experience for all involved.

Competency Standards of Specialised Palliative Care Nursing

The Competency Standards for Specialist Palliative Care Nursing Practice comprise five domains:

Therapeutic Relationships
Complex Supportive Care
Collaborative Practice
Leadership
Improving Practice

While the domains are described separately in the document, in practice they are inter-related. Download the document here.

Advance Care Directives

A Community Nursing provider, providing care with a difference.