Foundations in palliative care for general practice

This webinar will help build palliative care capability in general practice, enabling participants to better support and manage palliative care patients in the community. They will also learn about local community palliative care providers and the services they offer.

Palliative care is person- and family-centred treatment, care and support for people living with a life-limiting illness. Primary care providers play a crucial role in providing this care in the community, ensuring that people with a life-limiting illness and their families get the support and care needed to live well. 

The event will feature a local general practitioner, detailing experiences providing community palliative care, as well as outlining the aims, activities and responsibilities involved with providing palliative care in a general practice setting. Attendees will also hear from three community palliative care providers in Melbourne’s north west, who will provide an overview of their services. They will discuss how to identify patients for whom palliative care is appropriate and reveal practical tips on supporting patients through advanced care planning.

Speaker Bios

Dr Haoming Zhou is a geriatrician and palliative medicine physician working across Melbourne through Northern Health and Melbourne City Mission Palliative Care. He has joined the Northern Advance Care Planning team to continue to encourage discussion and understanding to promote person-centred care through shared decision-making. His work at Melbourne City Mission Palliative Care is aimed at improving access to specialist palliative care in residential aged care. He is involved in teaching and supervision and is interested in listening and learning from the stories we all have and share.

Dr Terry Ahern is a semi-retired GP at MyHealth Brunswick. He is passionate about care of the elderly, aged care, palliative care and chronic disease management. He is a member of North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network’s Older Adults Expert Advisory Group. As well as seeing elderly and frail patients in practice, Terry regularly visits them at residential aged care homes and provides palliative care.

Dr. Chien-Che Lin is a palliative medicine specialist consultant at several hospitals and community palliative care services in Victoria, including Banksia Palliative Care Service. He also works as a general practitioner. Committing to support people with progressive, incurable disease to live as well as possible with the burden of diseases and dying, he has continuously dedicated clinical and administrative commitments to improve care in the community. He is actively involved in teaching and supervision of medical students and medical specialist trainees, aiming to inspire a practice culture of both academic excellence and human compassion across all clinical settings.

Dr Annie Chiu is the head of the palliative care service at Werribee Mercy Hospital and Mercy Palliative Care. She obtained the Palliative Medicine fellowship in 2016 and has worked in inpatient and community palliative care settings since. She has a special interest in non-malignant palliative medicine and leads the hospital’s palliative clinic. The clinic provides symptom management and supportive care to patients with a life-limiting non-cancer illness, such as end-stage COPD, heart failure, or end-stage kidney disease.

Dr Chiu is an honorary lecturer at the University of Notre Dame and is also heavily involved in junior medical officer training and teaching. Like all the speakers present today, she recognises the pivotal role of primary care providers in patients’ palliative journeys, and only a strong partnership can lead to good care outcomes. 

For more information and to pre-register, contact Jack.Williams@nwmphn.org.au

Learning outcomes:

1. Explain the key differences between voluntary assisted dying and palliative care.
2. Explain the responsibilities involved with managing palliative care patients in general practice and in collaboration with community palliative care services.
3. Interpret how community palliative care functions and how community palliative care services interact with GPs, residential in-reach services and RACHs to support best care for patients at home
4. Describe the eligibility criteria and process for completion of Medical Certification of Cause of Death. 
5. Identify the importance of advance care planning and completing goals of care to support patient outcomes.