Returning to Country: building capacity for equitable, accessible Paediatric Palliative Care

Paediatric Palliative Care (PPC) services support an array of considerations for health professionals to strategically plan for and provide holistic and seamless continuum of care for children and their families, in their location of choice

In 2014 Australian specialist PPC services sought to address the gap in PPC support to children with life-limiting conditions and their families who live in regional, rural or remote communities. The Quality of Care Collaborative Australia (QuoCCA) project introduced specialist PPC educators nationally with the aim of delivering PPC education to health professionals to improve outcomes for children and families living in rural, regional and remote settings.

The application of a Pop-Up model of care (MOC) to facilitate PPC education for health professionals local to the child and family anecdotally emerged as the ‘gold standard’ for education outcomes. Delivering education in a planned and coordinated way shows promise in increasing capacity of generalist health professionals to provide PPC across Australia. Integrated knowledge about community-based PPC is needed to strategically plan for a child and family’s care. Boyden et al (2018) states “it is increasingly important that all patients have access to community resources [] that can provide care regardless of location”.

This presentation describes the Pop-Up MOC in practice. A case study will highlight the key elements required for success, demonstrating how optimal paediatric palliative care and education can be delivered concurrently. The Pop-Up MOC can enhance the sustainability of the regional workforce, who may be challenged by geographical and professional isolation, whilst promoting community engagement prior to the death of a child and in support of the family after their child’s death.