Diverse Settings

Community or home-based palliative care is often about preparing the older person and their family. This includes both preparing them to provide or administer clinical care, but also what to expect in the dying process. Resources and information for the older person, their family and carer can be found in the Older person, Family and Carer Support in the Business and Practice Management section of this Toolkit.

How to teach carers/families to help manage breakthrough symptoms safely using subcutaneous medicines
caring@home
caring@home has developed educational material to support health professionals engaging carers/family members in delivering subcutaneous medicines at home for management of breakthrough palliative care symptoms.

caring@home app
caring@home
This app assists health professionals supporting families and carers to help manage symptoms of an older person receiving palliative care who chooses to be cared for, and die, at home if possible. The app gives quick and easy access to resources for carers, health professionals, and clinical services.

Like with providing care in practice settings, community and home-based palliative care often requires a multidisciplinary team to ensure high quality care.

Information about working in care teams can be found in the Work Together section of the Primary Care Toolkit.

The role of the carer should not be understated, as alongside the primary care provider, they often know the older person most intimately. Carers also need compassion and support through this process.

You can find more information about supporting carers in the Assess Palliative Care Needs and Bereavement sections of Clinical Action, and under Older Person, Family and Carer Support in the Business and Practice Management section of the Primary Care Toolkit.

Palliative Care Case Conference Summary – Home Care (224kb pdf)
CareSearch
This form can help structure case conferences for home-based palliative care, identifying any barriers in accessibility of care, treatment goals, and establishing a checklist of next steps/actions.

Community and home visits can be time consuming, with travel often involved. There are financial incentives available to support the delivery of palliative care by primary care professionals at home and in the community.

Supporting a planned home death: The GPs Checklist (309kb pdf)
CareSearch
This interactive checklist supports GPs in preparing for the at-home death of an older person, recognising that without appropriate preparation, the person’s wish to die at home may not happen due to hospitalisation. Funding streams
ELDAC Primary Care Toolkit
There are multiple funding streams and financial incentives to support palliative care delivery in primary care settings. The Business and Practice Management section of this Toolkit provides a summary of these opportunities for remuneration.