Extra funding for palliative care

The Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, announced a $14.4 million package to provide extra services and equipment for palliative care, to coincide with national Palliative Care Week (24-30 May 2009).

It aimed to raise awareness about accessing palliative care services to help Australians at the end stage of life.

The theme of Palliative Care Week this year was ‘If only I knew…finding answers to questions that help us live and die the best we can’.

The new initiatives are:

• $11 million over two years for local grants to help community groups, aged care providers and charitable organisations provide support to palliative care patients and their families;
• More than $2.9 million for equipment upgrades and research;
• More than $500,000 in one-off local grants for 2008-09 for non-government organisations to improve support for patients and their families, and to develop greater local capacity and tailored resources; and
• Updating the National Palliative Care Strategy.