Supporting staff in palliative care at Valmar Community Aged Care
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Home Care
An interview with Melissa Clear, Home Care Service Manager, Valmar Support Services Ltd.
‘We consistently hire new staff, but we need more support for them to keep moving forward. Instead of quick, one-hour meetings, we need more in-depth support and resources like the ELDAC packs. These packs are instrumental in bridging the knowledge gap, especially as our team faces constant reforms and updates in palliative care practices.’ Melissa Clear, Home Care Service Manager.
In an ELDAC interview with the Home Care Service Manager from Valmar Community Aged Care, Melissa Clear shared insights into her role and the realities of providing palliative and end-of-life care within a home care program.
As the manager of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, Home Care Packages, and transport services, Melissa oversees a wide rural and remote area, including the Southern Highlands, Riverina, and Murray in the ACT. With approximately 14 outlets dedicated to aged care, she has been in this role for about 16 years, bringing extensive experience from a previous case management role in aged care.
Melissa described increasing need for palliative and end of life care in the home care space ‘These days, we're seeing more end-of-life care needs. Planning for end-of-life is becoming crucial,’ she explained.
To help them meet this need, Valmar community aged care is engaging with various components of the ELDAC Project. Melissa and her staff make the most of resources available on the ELDAC website, and utilise the ELDAC print resources to help staff develop their knowledge and confidence in palliative care.
Additionally, they have recently initiated the ELDAC Linkages program to better support their team, and to develop service level processes supporting quality end of life and palliative care.
Melissa notes that her staff are often on the ground, providing face-to-face care. This makes it essential to equip staff with the necessary skills to have conversations about end-of-life care and support clients in thinking about it.
Additionally, staff also need support to recognise client deterioration, know what to do next, and understand the available supports. Melissa notes that the ELDAC print resources have been very useful in helping staff consider aspects of palliative care throughout their regular care interactions. ‘Many of our staff recently completed their Certificate III, so I'm hoping they recognise the importance of these resources and see beyond “I just go there and clean the house”,’ Melissa shared. They emphasised the benefits of these resources, noting that staff are becoming more consistent in their follow-ups with palliative or end-of-life clients, ensuring everyone knows what to do next.
Valmar Community Aged Care service has shown how services can benefit from engaging with multiple aspects of one big national palliative care project to provide coherent and consistent support at the service as well as staff level.
When asked if they would recommend ELDAC to other managers or colleagues, Melissa responded with enthusiasm.
‘Definitely! The resources are current and supported by universities, which gives us confidence in their accuracy and relevance. It's tough to find up-to-date resources, and ELDAC provides that. I highly recommend it to anyone in our field’.
If your organisation is interested in an ELDAC pack, they are available to order for free.
Melissa Clear
Home Care Service Manager, Valmar Support Services Ltd