Clinical Networks in Victoria

Palliative Care

The Palliative Care Clinical Network (PCCN) was established by the Victorian Department of Health in August 2010 to provide clinical leadership in implementing policy directions, service delivery frameworks and program initiatives. These include:

• Strengthening palliative care: Policy and strategic directions 2011-2015
• Service delivery framework and service capability framework
• Clinical service improvement program.

Associate Professor Mark Boughey, Director Palliative Medicine at St Vincent's Health is the Clinical Lead for the PCCN. The Clinical Lead and the members of the PCCN leadership group have a range of experience across palliative care and related sectors.
The Department of Health funded the following priority PCCN projects:

• Clinical tools to assist with specialist palliative care provision (undertaken by the Centre for Palliative Care, a collaborating centre of St Vincent’s Health and The University of Melbourne). The final report is available on the Victorian Palliative Care Program website.
   Clinical tools to assist with specialist palliative care provision November 2012
• A review of palliative care clinical indicators for pain (undertaken by the Pain and Palliative Care unit at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne). The final report is available on the Victorian Palliative Care Program website.
• Bereavement support standards for specialist palliative care services (undertaken by the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement in partnership with the Centre for Palliative Care, a collaborating centre of St Vincent’s Health and The University of Melbourne). The standards are available on the Victorian Palliative Care Program website. Please contact Jo Hall, Palliative Care as per below to access the final report.
• End of life care and care pathways in Victoria: Report and recommendations May 2011. The project final report providing practical solutions to enable the introduction of pathways in health services in Victoria is now available on the Centre for Palliative Care website. The Department has provided funding to the Centre for Palliative Care for a time-limited program of coordination for Victorian services wishing to implement EOLC pathways. Information regarding the Victorian End-of-life care pathways Coordination program (VEC) is also available on the Centre’s website.

The PCCN also convenes triage and endorsement working groups, hosts community-of-practice forums, maintains strong relationships with the palliative care consortia regional clinical advisory groups, and has links with other clinical networks and the Palliative Care Research Network Victoria.

Further information

Jo Hall
Program Manager
Telephone: (61 3) 9096 2138