Palliative care

Palliative care aims to support people living with a terminal illness. The care focuses on supporting the person who has the illness as well as their family and friends.

Palliative care concentrates on a person’s quality of life by managing symptoms, and meeting a person’s social, emotional and spiritual needs. It also provides advice, support and education to family and friends. 

About the Palliative Care Program

The Barwon Health Palliative Care Program provides care to patients and their families within the Barwon South West Region. Palliative Care Consultancy at University Hospital Geelong is available to all acute areas of Barwon Health and is available to both inpatient and those attending outpatient appointments. The team consists of a palliative care consultant physician, palliative care registrar, palliative care nurse practitioner candidate and palliative care clinical nurse consultant.

The service aims to provide:

• Advice regarding pain and symptom management for patients with a life-limiting illness whilst in the acute hospital
• Assessment for community palliative care services
• Assessment for inpatient palliative care services
• Discharge planning assistance
• Palliative medical review

The palliative care team uses a multidisciplinary team approach (meaning they represent a range of skills and clinical backgrounds) as we recognise you may have a range of clinical, spiritual, psychological, financial and social care needs.

The multidisciplinary team meets on a weekly basis. The disciplines represented in the team include:

• Specialist palliative care doctors
• Specialist palliative care nurses
• Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, dietitians and other allied health professionals
• Pastoral care, psychologists and bereavement support staff
• Specially trained volunteers

The aim of the team is to ensure you are able to access services that are appropriate to you.

When to access Palliative Care

Palliative care can be accessed early in the course of an illness, together with other therapies intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes tests/investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing symptoms.

Regardless of your level of need, the palliative care team is available to provide advice and support to you and other professionals involved in your care. Your general practitioner (GP) is an integral part of this team.

How to access our services

The Palliative Care service is accessed by referral. A referral can be made by hospital staff, your GP or other specialists with your consent. Your family/carer can also refer or you can self-refer.

To refer to the Palliative Care service or for any enquiries please phone (03) 4215 5700, Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm.

Service availability

• Hospital Based Consultancy Program: Monday to Friday 8am to 4.30pm.
• Community Palliative Care: 24 hours a day, seven days per week. 
• Palliative Care Unit: 24-hours a day, seven days per week.