Building confidence of our local primary care workforce to deliver quality palliative care

Last month Brisbane North PHN hosted our Palliative Care Evening for Primary Care 2024.

Held during National Advance Care Planning Week (18 - 24 March), the event aimed to build the capacity of our region’s primary care workforce to support patients, families and carers by connecting them with services and supports across North Brisbane and Moreton Bay.

Dr Kylie Norris, Brisbane North PHN and Metro North Health General Practice Liaison Officer (GPLO) and MC on the night, warmly hosted 105 primary care professionals and palliative care service supports and providers for networking and education at Victoria Park.

Guest speaker Dr Greg Parker, Director of PallConsult, drew on his expertise in palliative care practice, education, research and service development to deliver an education session over a sit-down dinner. Dr Parker shared a case study to impart practical guidance for supporting people in palliative care through the lens of general practice. He was joined by Dr Bill Lukin, Director of the Metro North HHS Community Palliative Care Service and the Specialist Palliative Care in Aged Care (SPACE) Project, who offered his own valuable insights throughout the session.

A delegate said: “As someone very aware of the gaps in palliative care, the late [or] non-referrals are desperately in need of being addressed. Greg’s presentation hit the mark!”

Primary care professionals remarked that the information presented had “increased advance care planning discussions, and increased [their] confidence [to] initiate discussion with patients sooner [for] referral services, including carer awareness of services and where to ask for help.”

The evening, well received by attendees, provided “excellent and practical information,” with “lots of pearls of wisdom and local knowledge” and attendees reported feeling “much more confident in knowing where to ask for help.”

Our Palliative Care Evening for Primary Care is an annual event which will return in 2025, with dates to be confirmed.