ELDAC Care Model - ELDAC - Resources
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ELDAC Care Model

Helping aged care staff and health professionals meet the needs of older Australians coming to the end of their life.

What is the ELDAC Care Model?

The ELDAC Care Model is a guide to help aged care staff and health professionals meet the needs of older Australians coming to the end of their life. It reflects national policies and practices in palliative care.

Each of the ELDAC toolkits has information and resources relating to the elements of the ELDAC Care Model.

How can I use the ELDAC Care Model?

The ELDAC Care Model can help you determine:

  • whether a person is approaching the end of their life
  • how to plan and deliver care for a person
  • how a person’s care needs might change over time
  • what resources would be useful for you in providing care
  • whether you have education or learning needs.

Advance Care Planning

Advance care planning is the process of planning for your current and future health care. It involves talking about your values, beliefs and preferences with your loved ones and doctors. This helps them make decisions about your care when you can’t. People may also formalise their plan with an advance care directive.

Recognise End-of-life

End of life is the period of time when the person is living with an irreversible condition and decline where death is foreseeable. Recognising when someone may be in the last months of life provides an opportunity for assessment of palliative care needs and palliative care planning.

Assess palliative care needs

If someone has been recognised as being at the end of life, they should have a palliative care needs assessment. Re-assessment should occur regularly and at key transition points in the resident’s trajectory.

Provide palliative care

Palliative care address the physical social and spiritual needs of the older person. By providing palliative care for someone coming to the end of their life we can provide the best quality of life possible while managing symptoms and concerns.

Work Together

Coordinating palliative care with other services helps us provide the best quality care. This can include the team in the aged care service, the GP, allied health providers or a palliative care service.

Respond to deterioration

Over time there are likely to be changes in condition or additional symptoms and needs. As disease progresses, there is a need to identify and respond to deterioration to make sure the person continues to receive the best quality care.

Manage dying

While individuals may differ in their signs and symptoms of dying there are some common indicators that a person may be in the final days of life. Some organisations have a specific care plan for residents in the final days or weeks of life.

Bereavement, Grief and Loss

An older person may grieve due to a decline in physical, mental or cognitive health. It is also important to acknowledge that family may grieve before the death and may find bereavement difficult.

To find out more

You can learn about the various elements of the ELDAC Care Model by

Page updated 13 May 2021