Palliative and supportive care services
Cabrini’s palliative and supportive care team provide compassionate and expert care to people living with life-limiting illnesses. Our primary aim is to optimise our patients’ quality of life. We focus on providing comfort and support.
Cabrini has relocated our Prahran Palliative and Supportive Care Unit to Cabrini Malvern hospital, to ensure we can maintain a safe and sustainable service for our patients and families.
Cabrini Prahran medical, nursing and allied health staff have also relocated to Cabrini Malvern, ensuring continuity of care
What is palliative and supportive care?
Cabrini’s palliative and supportive care service is a unique service with the ability to anticipate and respond to the individual needs of patients living with terminal or life-limiting illnesses.
We provide palliative and supportive care throughout our hospitals and health facilities, in the home and specialise in complex symptom management in our inpatient unit.
Palliative and supportive care is an integral part of Cabrini’s cancer care and chronic disease management programs. Our enhanced model of care ensures our palliative and supportive care services are integrated early into our patients’ treatment plans.
Research shows that early integration has many proven benefits and can help extend life expectancy for people living with terminal or life-limiting illnesses. It is not uncommon for patients to be still receiving treatments such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy or participating in clinical trials while engaging with our services.
Patients can be discharged from the program when stable and re-admitted to the service when required.
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General enquiries
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Operating hours
24 hours, 7 days a week
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Referrals
You need a referral from a GP to be seen by a Cabrini palliative care specialist and to receive any relevant Medicare rebate.
Alternatively, if the matter is urgent, the Cabrini Malvern Emergency Department (ED) can help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The ED team can refer you to the most appropriate specialist to cater for your individual needs.
You will need to provide a referral to your patient to access our palliative and supportive care services.
Our doctors, surgeons and healthcare professionals are always available to help. Please call them directly if you would like advice, or to discuss a treatment plan in advance.
If your patient is unwell the specialist of your choice can admit them for inpatient observation and treatment.
Alternatively, if the matter is urgent, the Cabrini Malvern Emergency Department (ED) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The ED team can provide a referral to the most appropriate specialist to meet your patient’s needs.
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Locations
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Improving quality of life
Our goal is to improve quality of life for patients, their families and carers. We provide expert and compassionate care to address people’s physical, emotional, social, cultural and spiritual needs. We also offer support related to dying and grieving.
Our multidisciplinary team includes palliative care physicians, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals, volunteers and pastoral care specialists, who work together to develop personalised treatment plans to enable patients to live their life to the fullest.
Palliative and supportive care can assist with management of symptoms caused by treatments as well as those caused by other serious illnesses including:
- Advanced lung, heart, kidney and liver diseases
- Disabling stroke and other neurological diseases
- Alzheimer’s and dementia
- Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Refer to our service
“The staff at the Cabrini Palliative care Prahran were beyond incredible. Absolutely nothing was too much trouble. They showed my family so much care and support. They cared so very much for my Mum, they listened to family members, and helped us, they called me when they thought I should come down, they took all my endless phone calls about my Mum at any time of the day and night with so much care and professionalism” From the daughter of a patient
Our specialist palliative care unit
Our inpatient unit provides acute and intensive specialist palliative and end of life care in a homelike environment. Patients admitted to this service have complex symptoms that require close monitoring and management including medication changes and infusions, nerve blocks and radiotherapy.
The unit has single rooms, each with their own ensuite. This is a short stay unit with the average length of stay between 10 to 12 days. The unit averages 60 admissions per month with the majority of patients being discharged home with the support of our community care specialists if living within a 15km radius.
Our multidisciplinary team will work with you and your family to set goals for your care based on your wishes. Patients admitted for symptom management and discharge planning are assisted with preparation and transition to home.
If home is no longer an option, we can also assist with preparations for alternative accommodation. We provide end of life care that focuses on comfort and peacefulness, and supporting patients and families with physical, emotional and psychological needs.
Complimentary therapies
We also offer a range of complimentary therapies to improve our patient’s wellbeing including:
- Music therapy
- Art Therapy
Biography service
Based on the tradition of oral storytelling, we offer a biography service which gives patients the opportunity to reflect on a life well lived. The completed biography is a wonderful gift for the storyteller to share with family and friends. The specially trained volunteer visits the patient in the home or at the place of care.
For more information or to express interest in the biography service, please speak to your nurse or contact Cabrini Volunteer Services on (03) 9508 1084.
Palliative care where you live
The Cabrini palliative home care service provides nursing assessment and care to patients who require assistance with symptom management and end of life care in a home environment, including residential aged care facilities.
The service works in partnership with GP’s and other health care, community and support services to:
- provide advice and support to patients and carers regarding symptom management,
- assesses the requirement for specialist medical involvement and hospitalisation
- support patients with end of life care in their home environment.
Home visits are generally scheduled between 9 am and 6 pm in accordance with patient preferences but there is an on-call nurse available 24 hours a day to provide telephone advice and or after hour’s visits as required. The service currently operates within a 15 km boundary from Cabrini Malvern to ensure it is responsive to patient needs.
Cost of home care service
The home care service generally incurs no cost to patients as it is billed and funded through the patient’s private health insurance fund, however, an annual excess may be charged by some health funds. On referral to the service, administrative staff will check with your health insurer to ensure you are adequately covered and will explain the costs and obtain financial consent before commencement of care and service. Patients without private health cover may access the services on a fee-for-service basis.
In the event of your health provider not covering your costs or if you are unable to cover costs independently, we will advise you of alternative service providers.
Allied health and pastoral care services
We can also offer allied health services for chronic disease and palliative home care patients who are unable to attend outpatient clinics. These are offered on a fee-for-service basis and include, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy and social work. Pastoral services practitioners can also visit patients in their homes for psychosocial support.
Palliative care across Cabrini
A specialist medical consultant service is available to patients at Cabrini Malvern and Cabrini Brighton on referral from a treating specialist doctor.
The service is provided with no out-of pocket expenses to the patient.
The palliative care medical staff will meet with you and with your medical team to determine treatment and care options. This can include recommendations for pain management, symptom control, and psychosocial support and may include transfer to the inpatient unit or alternative service; or referral to the outpatients’ clinic or home care services for follow-up after discharge.
The palliative nursing liaison service is available to offer support and advice in relation to your specialist care needs. The liaison nurses work closely with the medical consultants, the ward staff, inpatient and home care service.
Outpatient Supportive Care Clinic
The Supportive Care Clinic is a weekly clinic based at the Cabrini Haematology Oncology Centre on Level 2 at Cabrini Malvern. You may be referred to the clinic by your GP, treating specialist, the community palliative care nurse or on discharge from Cabrini.
The clinic provides the opportunity for you to access a palliative care specialist as an outpatient.
To refer a patient to the Supportive Care Clinic, please forward a written referral from your GP or specialist addressed to the Director of Palliative Medicine, or speak to your community palliative care nurse.