Email
Statewide/Regional Leadership & Services
Palliative Care Clinical Network (PCCN)
The PCCN provides clinical leadership in the implementation of policy directions and program initiatives in Victoria. The Palliative Care Clinical Lead (Associate Professor Mark Boughey, Director Palliative Medicine at St Vincent's Health) and the members of the PCCN leadership group have a range of experience across palliative care and related sectors.
The PCCN oversees projects that further clinical service improvement and also convenes community-of-practice forums to provide an opportunity for workers to enhance their practice around key issues in palliative care. It addresses developing and evolving clinical needs and priorities in palliative care and assists palliative care consortia and services to implement the service capability framework and related clinical frameworks.
The PCCN maintains strong relationships with the regional clinical advisory groups established by each of the palliative care consortia as well as links with other clinical networks and the palliative care research network.
PCCN posters – Network to Network 2012
At the 2nd Australasian Clinical Networks Conference held in Sydney 22-23 November 2012 the PCCN had seven abstracts accepted including five posters and two oral presentations. The posters and presentations include:
Translating local strategies into state-based clinical practice improvements: the work of the Victorian Palliative Care Clinical Network Endorsement Standing Sub-committee (oral presentation) - Developing a Victorian bereavement framework (oral presentation)
- A review of palliative care clinical indicators for pain (poster)
- End-of-life care and care pathways in Victoria: a project to develop an integrated approach (poster)
- Engaging the sector in clinical practice improvement: a Palliative Care Clinical Network initiative (poster)
- Innovation for practice: The Victorian Palliative Care Clinical Network supporting implementation of state policy into improved capability and service delivery (poster)
- Recommendations for clinical tools to assist with providing specialist palliative care (poster)
For further information about the PCCN, please visit the PCCN page on the Clinical Networks website.
Palliative Care Consortia
Palliative care consortia were established in 2004 in all departmental regions:
- Barwon South Western
- Eastern Metropolitan
- Hume
- Gippsland
- Grampians
- Loddon Mallee
- North and West metropolitan
- Southern metropolitan.
The role of the palliative care consortia is to:
- undertake regional planning in line with departmental directions
- coordinate palliative care service provision in each region
- advise the department about regional priorities for future service development and funding
- in conjunction with the PCCN implement the service delivery framework and undertake communication, capacity building and clinical service improvement initiatives.
Palliative care consortia comprise voting members from all funded palliative care services in each departmental region as well as other stakeholders from health and community services in a non-voting capacity.
Palliative Care Victoria
Palliative Care Victoria (PCV) is the peak body for palliative care services in Victoria. PCV develops and provides information to people living with life-threatening illnesses and their families and advocates for the provision of high-quality palliative care in Victoria.
Statewide palliative care services
- Victorian Paediatric Palliative Care Program (VPPCP) - An alliance between The Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash Medical Centre and Very Special Kids, the VPPCP provides specialist paediatric palliative care advice to health professionals caring for children with a life-threatening condition and their families, enabling them to receive optimal care in the setting of their choice.
- Very Special Kids (VSK) - provides services to families who have a child with a life-threatening condition and to families whose child has died. VSK provides services including needs-based emotional support, counselling and activities, a sibling support program, bereavement support and respite and end-of-life care through VSK House.
- HIV/AIDS Consultancy Service - a multidisciplinary team based at Alfred Health comprising an infectious diseases physician, a clinical nurse consultant and a clinical nurse specialist in HIV. The consultancy ensures that all people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Victoria have access to optimal palliative care and support.
- Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) Victoria - provides family support including needs assessment and referral and equipment; community and professional education activities; and support for generalist providers who are caring for people living with motor neurone disease.
- Statewide Specialist Bereavement Service (SSBS) - operated by the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement, the SSBS provides specialist bereavement counselling; builds the capacity of generalist health and community services; and facilitates leadership, quality and health promotion for the bereavement sector.
Academics centres
Palliative care research in Victoria is predominantly conducted through the following institutions, each of which undertakes research and education to help improve the quality of care for people with a life-threatening illness.
- Centre for Palliative Care - a collaborative of The University of Melbourne and auspiced by St Vincent’s Health has a research focus on family-centred palliative care, psychosocial care, symptom management and service delivery.
- Chair in Palliative Medicine - auspiced by Monash University and Southern Health has a research focus on palliative care policy, service delivery and symptom management.
- Centre for Death and Dying Research in Supportive Care (RISC) program - auspiced by La Trobe University has a research focus on public health, pastoral care, sociological studies and supportive care.
- Vivian Bullwinkel Chair in Palliative Care Nursing - financially supported by Monash University to continue Vivian Bullwinkel's vision that palliative care research improves quality of life for the sick and dying (clinical partners with Peninsula Hospice Service, Royal District Nursing Service and Peninsula Health) has a research focus on service evaluation, palliative care policy and cultural issues.
- Department of Pain and Palliative Care / Department of Nursing and Supportive Care - auspiced by Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has a research focus on supportive care and pain management.
