Nursing & Medical Support
Karuna Hospice Service is committed to providing best practice specialised nursing and medical care that works in collaboration with the patient’s GP and/or specialist to ensure their individualised needs are met.
The service is delivered in line with the National Palliative Care Standards and is accredited against the National Safety and Quality Health Standards (NSQHS).
Nursing Care
The service engages specialist palliative care nurses who are expert in providing compassionate individualised nursing care including:
- Pain and symptom management
- Immediate emotional support
- Liaising with the family GP and medical specialist in the collaborative treatment agreement
- Carer education and support
- End of life terminal care
- Referral to the Family Support Team Counsellor, Social Worker, Spiritual Support Worker
- Linkage and coordination of external community and social services.
Medical Care
Our Palliative Specialist doctor plays an integral role in our management of patients by working in a collaborative holistic medical management approach with the patients GP and/or Specialist/s to provide:
- Patient medical review for complex symptom management that includes medication prescribing in collaboration with patient’s treating medical team
- Completion of Advanced Resuscitation Plans (ARP) and Advanced Care Planning discussions.
- Advice to Karura clinical team on symptom management and end of life care.
Hours of service
The 7 day a week service is delivered via face-to-face visits, telehealth platforms and phone interactions. Out of hours on call nursing support is also available.
Our palliative care doctor is available to provide medical care on a part-time basis.
Referrals
Referrals to the service can be made by either completing the Patient Self Referral Enquiry or the Health Professional Referral.
Help us improve our services
We appreciate feedback on the services you and your family member receive from Karuna, as it provides us with the opportunity to continuously improve our services.
CLICK HERE to complete our Feedback Form.