Palliative Care

Palliative Care Australia (PCA) represents all those who work towards high-quality palliative care for all Australians. We raise awareness of palliative care and encourage the Australian community to talk about the important issues surrounding death and dying.

Palliative Care NT is the Northern Territory’s peak body for palliative care. Their role is to raise awareness of palliative care and improve access for all Territorians. Their mission is to influence, foster and promote the delivery of quality palliative care for all. The national peak body for palliative care is Palliative Care Australia. In the NT specialist palliative care services are delivered by Territory Palliative Care. 

National Palliative Care Week 2022

National Palliative Care Week 2022, held from Sunday, 22 May – Saturday, 28 May, is Australia’s largest annual awareness-raising initiative to increase understanding of the many benefits of palliative care.

The theme for NPCW 2022 is: “Palliative Care It’s your right”. The theme seeks to raise awareness about the rights of all Australians to access high-quality palliative care when and where they need it.
One of the great myths about palliative care is that it is only a synonym for end-of-life care. It is so much more than that. Anyone with a life-limiting illness has the right to access palliative care services that will support them in living as well as possible, for as long as possible.

Palliative care helps people (from babies to older adults) live their life as well as possible for as long as possible, when living with a life-limiting or terminal illness. It is person and family-centred care that considers the individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs, as well as the needs of their loved ones and carers.

About Palliative Care

• It’s your right
  • Palliative care helps people live as well as possible, for as long as possible when living with a life-limiting or terminal illness. Palliative care identifies and treats symptoms which may be physical, emotional, spiritual or social.
• Palliative care is a universal human right, explicitly recognised under the human right to health.
• Accessing palliative care early can help ensure a person’s values, beliefs and goals for their care are known and respected.
• Palliative care is available to people with a serious or life-limiting illness and their families, to assist in managing their symptoms and improve their quality of life.
• Palliative care workers have a deep understanding of the difficult situations people face with a life-limiting illness or near the end of their lives. They are there to help.
• The palliative care community in Australia is comprised of clinicians from across the full spectrum of the clinical disciplines who care for people who are dying or living with a life-limiting illness.
• Palliative care workers can support the loved ones of people near the end of their life and help them live with their grief and bereavement.

Source: Media provided by Palliative Care Australia (PCA) – palliativecare.org.au

Page updated 18 May 2022