ELDAC Case Study in the Wowan/Dululu Multi-Purpose Centre

A blog by Suzie Peacock, Co-Ordinator, Wowan/Dululu Multi-Purpose Centre

To appreciate the true impact our participation in the ELDAC Linkages Program has had on our organisation, you must first understand the history of our service. 

The Wowan/Dululu Multi-Purpose Centre (WDMPC) is a community owned and run not-for-profit organisation.  Established in 1992 by the community, for the community – the service is fundamental not only to in home aged care in this area, it is also a central point of care and reference for the community in general.  We are rurally based with a largely casual staff and limited access to tertiary trained health professionals.  We are very proud of our service and have successfully upheld our role within our community.  However, following the death of two clients we came to understand that there were areas in which we could improve.  Whilst both clients died at home, as they wished to, we couldn’t shake the feeling that we could have supported them, their families and our staff better.  We identified that we were unable to provide our clients, or their families with any meaningful information about advance care planning (ACP), that we needed to improve information provided about end of life care, availability of additional supportive services, bereavement counselling and simply the practicalities of death and dying. 

Our physical location within a large and complex health service region complicated our efforts in knowing who to contact for support, we felt like we were in the ‘Bermuda Triangle’.   We had attempted to reach out to other local and regional primary and specialist health care providers to get some sort of direction, unfortunately with minimal effect.   Then we heard about the ELDAC Linkages Program!  We jumped at the opportunity to participate! Our mission: could our organisation realistically deliver, facilitate and support end of life care in our community?   

Our wonderful ELDAC Linkages Facilitator and mentor guided us through the program:- we conducted self-assessment audits, developed a meaningful improvement plan, undertook capacity building activities and with the assistance of our Facilitator, made the right connections with the right teams.  As all of the improvement, capacity and linkage activities came together our confidence grew. 

Participation in the ELDAC Linkages Program, has bought about systemic change in our service, from onboarding through to the end of a clients care with us. We now have active, beneficial relationships with a number of external services that can support our clients and staff in a variety of ways – from routine staff training, clinical care and advice to support management of our in house documents.  We are very clear about what needs to be in place if a client chooses to spend the end of their life at home, with well documented policies, procedures and client resources readily available. 

We are normalising conversations about death and dying.  Our confidence around facilitating discussions where our clients are able to honestly communicate their wishes has grown immensely.  We can now also ensure the reliability and availability of documents of ACP. 

Given the reforms in Aged Care, we now feel well positioned to meet the Aged Care Quality and Safety Standards for end-of-life care.  As a result of the ELDAC Linkages Program, we provide better quality care. 

End of life is something we are all destined for - we plan births, why would we not plan our death? You cannot have one without the other, regardless of when it happens.  In this line of work, professional development is directly related to personal development – practical knowledge and growth based around the inescapable realities of being human.  Sadly, we have seen the benefit our new knowledge has had for some of our staff personally, with them noting how their understanding of end of life helped them through an incredibly difficult time.

So, did we achieve our mission…can our organisation realistically deliver, facilitate and support end of life care in our community?  YES we can!

🔗 Find out more about the ELDAC Linkages Program, including their expression of interest for aged care providers. 

 

Suzie Peacock

Co-Ordinator, Wowan/Dululu Multi-Purpose Centre