Commissioning starts for community-based palliative care services

The Palaszczuk Government is delivering on its commitment to invest $54.8 million to deliver community-based care for individuals with a life-limiting illness in regional, rural and remote Queensland.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said that Queensland Health is seeking submissions from capable non-government organisations (NGOs) to assist people to be cared for, and die, in their place of choice.

“We are working to ensure people can spend the precious time they have left in a comfortable, familiar environment, surrounded by their friends and family,” Minister D’Ath said.

“For people with a life-limiting illness community-based palliative care can help them live their life as fully and as comfortably as possible as they approach end of life.

“The $54.8 million in funding for community-based palliative care services is part of an additional $171 million that the Queensland Government will invest from 2021-22 to 2025-26 to lead reforms to palliative care.

“This significant additional investment will fund critical initiatives to expand and strengthen palliative care services for Queenslanders to ensure they remain high-quality, accessible and enable people to exercise genuine choice at end of life, allowing them to die with dignity.”

Queensland Health has released an Invitation to Offer (ITO) commissioning service providers for community-based palliative care services, across Queensland, outside of the South-East corner, from 1 October 2022.

The program aims to provide palliative healthcare services for individuals living in rural, regional and remote Queensland who have been diagnosed with life limiting illnesses.

Successful organsiations will be announced in mid-2022, with the commencement of services expected to begin by the end of 2022.

In addition to the new investment flowing from the $171 million Palliative Care Reform Program, other health initiatives are helping to build the capacity of the palliative care service system.

Minister D’Ath said an additional $5.9 million in recurrent funding will go towards continuing two important palliative care services over the next five years.

“The Paediatric Palliative Care Outreach Collaborative (PPCOC) and Statewide Specialist Palliative Rural Telehealth Service (SPaRTa) statewide palliative care services were established as part of the Care in the Right Setting Program,” Minister D’Ath said.

“This recurrent funding will ensure the community will continue to benefit from these important services now and into the future.”

Media contact: Martin Philip 0407 675 008