ACT Palliative Care Society

White -Water Rafting and Palliative Care
by Bruce Dawe

for my late wife, Gloria

If I had understood (when down the river
you and I went swirling in that boat)
that there were those who knew the ways of water
and how to use the oars to keep afloat
– I might have been less deafened by the worry,
less stunned by thoughts of what lay up ahead
(the rocks, the darkness threatening to capsize daily),
if I had only realised instead
that help was all around me for the asking
– I never asked, and therefore never knew
that such additional comfort could have helped me
in turn to be more help in comforting you.
I’d have found it easier then to simply hold you
instead of bobbing to and fro so much,
for it was you who seemed to be more tranquil
and I whom death was reaching out to touch.
If only I had had sufficient knowledge
in that white-water rafting I’d have learned
that there were those around us (with life jackets)
to whom I might have, in that turmoil, turned.
Instead, because I had not thought of rivers,
or rocks, or rapids, and gave way to fears
that seeking help might make a man less manly
and liable to betray himself with tears,
I was less useful then, as twilight deepened,
than I might well have been, had I but known:
however wild the waves that roll around us
– no one needs to live (or die) alone …

Bruce Dawe

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Palliative Care Services in the ACT

What is Clare Holland House?

Clare Holland House is an inpatient palliative care unit where a specially trained team cares for people with a life-limiting illness. During your palliative care journey, The patient may go to Clare Holland House for several different reasons.

You may go to have difficult symptoms brought under control and then you can return home. Or you may go to Clare Holland House for end of life care as you are dying.

What about Home Based Palliative Care?

The Home Based Palliative Care team can provide you with 24 hour palliative care advice support and visits at home. The team includes nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, volunteers and pastoral carers. They work in partnership with the patient, their family and your GP to meet your needs. Your GP may also involve a palliative care physician. The care needs of you and your family are the focus of the Home Based Palliative Care team.

What about Palliative Care in Hospital?

Palliative care is available in all hospitals in the ACT. The Canberra Hospital has a specialist palliative care nurse who may be contacted via referral from any Canberra Hospital ward. The palliative care nurse provides advice and support, and serves as a link to the palliative care network of services in the ACT. Specialists at any hospital may ask a palliative care physician to advise on your palliative care needs during your stay in hospital.

What about Palliative Care in an Aged Care Facility?

Aged care facilities in the ACT provide palliative care to residents and link into the ACT palliative care network of services as or when required.

What about Palliatiave Care for Children?

Palliative care for children represents a special, albeit closely related field to adult palliative care. WHO’s definition of palliative care appropriate for children and their families is as follows; the principles apply to other paediatric chronic disorders (WHO; 1998a):

Palliative care for children is the active total care of the child's body, mind and spirit, and also involves giving support to the family.

It begins when illness is diagnosed, and continues regardless of whether or not a child receives treatment directed at the disease.

Health providers must evaluate and alleviate a child's physical, psychological, and social distress.

Effective palliative care requires a broad multidisciplinary approach that includes the family and makes use of available community resources; it can be successfully implemented even if resources are limited.

It can be provided in tertiary care facilities, in community health centres and even in children's homes.

- WHO Definition of Palliative Care for Children
A child’s treating paediatric team usually manages that child’s palliative care in the ACT. The palliative care team is always available for support.

What does Palliative Care Cost?

The Home Based Palliative Care Service is provided at no cost to you. You may use your Medicare card or private insurance for in-patient palliative care services. In relevant cases, the Department of Veterans Affairs may assist with palliative care costs.