Palliative Care

The Concord Centre for Palliative Care (CCPC) is a centre of excellence. It provides sensitive, compassionate, multidisciplinary care for patients with a life-limiting illness and their family and carers. The Centre is a 20-bed inpatient unit with 16 single rooms (with ensuite) and two shared rooms on the grounds of Concord Hospital.

The role of palliative care

Palliative care is provided for all patients with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses living with and dying from a life-limiting illness. The primary goal is to maintain quality of life in a way that is meaningful to patients.

Palliative care aims to help and support patients and their carers by addressing the physical, emotional, spiritual and practical needs associated with their illness and its treatment.

The Concord Centre for Palliative Care (CCPC) provides holistic, patient and family-centred, multi-disciplinary care by doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and volunteers to patients within Sydney Local Health District.

Care is provided across three distinct patient care settings: patients' homes, acute hospital wards and our dedicated inpatient unit.

Concord Hospital palliative care teams

Care is provided by four teams:

Palliative Care Inpatient Unit Team

The Inpatient Unit is a 20-bed inpatient unit with 16 single rooms with ensuite and two shared rooms on the grounds of Concord Hospital.

It provides short-term stay for patients with complex palliative care needs that require a multidisciplinary approach including:

• symptom management
• psychological, social and functional concerns
• end of life care in the last few days to weeks of life
• respite care where no alternative exists, subject to bed availability

Patients and their families have access to a TV, fridge, barbecue facility, common lounge and a garden. Families and carers are encouraged to help personalise the patient's space, bring home-cooked meals and are welcome to stay overnight.

Visitors are encouraged to visit between 8am and 8pm. One visitor is welcome to stay overnight.

Palliative Care Hospital Consult Team

The Palliative Care Hospital Consult Team helps the hospital medical and surgical teams support patients admitted to Concord and Canterbury Hospitals. The team includes specialist palliative care doctors and nurses.

The role of the Palliative Care Hospital Consult Team includes:

• managing complex symptoms including pain, shortness of breath, nausea, constipation
• emotional and spiritual support for patients who are dying in hospital and their carers
• complex advance care planning
• enhancing End of Life Care in the hospital through education, leadership and research

Patients can be referred to the palliative care consult service by their admitting medical or surgical teams.

Palliative Care Community Team

The Palliative Care Community Team works with General Practitioners to support patients and their carers in maintain quality of life, comfort and dignity in their own homes. The team provides care in the following ways:

• monitor and manage symptoms including pain, nausea, and constipation
• patient and carer education
• liaison with the General Practitioner (GP) and other specialists
• facilitating end of life care at home
• arranging volunteers to provide respite and companionship at home
• palliative care doctor home visits for patients who are housebound (a referral from the general practitioner is required)

Patients can be referred to the community palliative care services by their GP or specialists.

Sydney District Nurses are core to the palliative care community team, with additional care provided by generalist community registered nurses, clinical nurse specialists and clinical nurse consultants.

The team consists of:

• Sydney District Nurses
• social workers
• occupational therapists
• medical home visits for non-ambulatory patients
• volunteers

To access the Palliative Care Community Team, contact Community Health Access Intake Nursing (CHAIN) via fax (02) 9767 7026 or call 1300 722 276 between 8am and 4pm, seven days a week.

Palliative Care Bereavement Team

Concord Hospital has specialist counsellors who can support patient's families and carers during bereavement.

The Concord Hospital Palliative Care Team

• Head of Department - A/Prof Ghauri Aggarwal
• Staff Specialists - Dr Corey Lau (Inpatient unit), Dr Dipti Mittal, Dr Jessica Lee, Dr Gowri Raman, Dr Megan Ritchie
• Clinical Nurse Consultant - Christiana Guthrie
• Inpatient Nursing Unit Manager - Paul Kaura
• Inpatient Clinical Nurse Consultant - Tanya Munn
• Inpatient Clinical Nurse Educator Inpatient unit - Amy Kim, Kate Lockhart
• Clinical Nurse Consultant Consult Service - Ivy Gough
• Clinical Nurse Specialist Consult Service - Jo Bilbrough
• Community Clinical Nurse Consultant - Kerry Edgar
• Community Clinical Nurse Specialist Concord - Shuying Yan, Yeong Moon
• Community Clinical Nurse Specialist Croydon - Shanni Dai, Meredith Eade
• Clinical Nurse Consultant Residential Aged Care Facility - Gina Fletcher, Helen Eggleton
• Clinical Psychologist - Vacant
• Social Worker - Brendan Myhill, Nancy Huynh
• Occupational Therapist - Jenni Hart, Grace Muldoon
• Exercise Physiologist - Caoimhe Scales
• Physiotherapist - Karen Tat, Alex Wagner
• Volunteer Coordinator - Jacqueline Martinez
• Bereavement Counsellors - Patricia McLoughlin, Victoria Worledge
• Bereavement Coordinator - Michael Dash
• Administrative Officer - Vacant

Referrals

A referral from a General Practitioner (GP) or medical specialist is needed for all Medical Outpatient appointments. Patients are notified of their appointment details by the service.

Fax referrals to (02) 9767 8064
Phone for an appointment on (02) 9767 6799.