Why partnerships are important to improving end-of-life care in Australia
A blog post written by Dr John Rosenberg, Research Fellow, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology
Does your organisation have a goal of improving advance care planning and palliative care given to older people in your care who are near the end of life?
Do you believe that you could achieve these goals through working in partnership with other organisations rather than on your own?
Do you experience challenges in accessing other services to support the older people in your care who are near the end of life?
Older people can have multiple, complex illnesses as they near the end of their lives. Achieving the best possible palliative care and advance care planning for older persons in your care doesn’t happen by chance. Providing this requires careful coordination and collaboration between these various services. Entering into partnerships to improve palliative care and advance care planning for older persons at the end of life is based on very deliberate strategies for working together. The input of range of health, aged and social care from a number of care providers is required – so palliative care is everyone’s business.
Providing this requires careful coordination and collaboration between these services. Entering into partnerships to improve advance care planning and palliative care for older persons at the end of life is based on very deliberate strategies for working together. In other words:
“Partnership is more than just collaboration on ad-hoc projects. It is about moving beyond responsibility for independent results, to a relationship that involves co-creation, shared risks and responsibilities, interdependency, and organisation transformation. True partnership is about identifying shared value and leveraging the combined strengths of each partner to achieve a level of impact that could not be accomplished independently.” (KPMG, 2016. Unlocking the Power of Partnership)
In the settings of care where older people nearing the end of life are supported, this impact can include improved quality of care, a reduction in the number of avoidable presentations to Emergency Departments in the end of life period, and shortened length of hospital stays.
Dr John Rosenberg, Research Fellow, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology