Sundale's first palliative care conference recognises palliative care as 'so much more' than end-of-life care

A guest blog by Helen Sharpley, CEO, Sundale

Sundale, a community based not for profit aged care organisation, recently hosted the Sunshine Coast’s first Palliative Care Conference, a two-day event attended by nurses, carers, aged care workers and volunteers from dozens of Sunshine Coast aged care providers.

One of the great myths about palliative care is that it’s a synonym for end-of-life care, but as Sundale knows, and our first Palliative Care Conference showed, palliative care is so much more than that.

Sundale resident, Bonnie Thomas, delivered the keynote address at the conference and shared her deeply personal story about the importance of quality, compassionate palliative care. Her husband of 66 years, Brian, passed away almost a year ago from Parkinson’s disease.

For the last three years of Brian’s life, he was a resident at Coolum Waters Care Centre, while Bonnie was able to live at Sundale’s co-located retirement community.

To Brian and Bonnie, palliative care was making the best of life while they were together, irrespective of his diagnosis. It was also so much more than physical and medical intervention. It was emotional support, a hug or an arm around Bonnie’s shoulders, or being asked if she was okay by a carer, cook or cleaner.

Bonnie also found great comfort in the broader Sundale team, who had control and were responsible for the care Brian received. There was hardly a dry eye in the room at the end of Bonnie’s courageous and moving presentation.

Sundale was also fortunate to have some of Queensland’s best project coordinators, clinical nurses, social workers and therapists lead important conversations about palliative care at the conference, which was also an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the amazing dedication of all those working and volunteering in palliative care throughout the Sunshine Coast.

Sundale is extremely proud to have delivered this event and would like to thank all palliative care workers for the physical, emotional, spiritual and social support they provide to families-in-need every single day.

Sundale is also proud to be participating in the ELDAC Linkages Program, a sub-program of End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) a national project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care to develop and support palliative care and advance care planning in aged care.

 

Helen Sharpley
CEO, Sundale