What’s involved with palliative care services at home?

Palliative care at home, a largely untapped resource in Australia, can support you or your loved one through life’s most challenging times. From symptom management and practical help with daily living to emotional support and respite for caregivers, it’s about enhancing quality of life and ensuring comfort and dignity in the place you know best - your home.

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19 January 2025

Stories | Home Care

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Palliative care services are not something many of us like to think about - until life compels us to.

Perhaps as a result, many Australian seniors remain unaware of the care options available to them, particularly government-subsidised palliative care at home, which is a largely untapped resource for seniors.

Specialist end of life care can empower you to achieve your goal of a natural, dignified death, with services delivered to you right in the comfort of your own home - offering compassionate, expert support at a heavily subsidised rate.

Understanding in-home palliative care services

Palliative care is a specialised type of care that enables an individual and their family to cope with a life-limiting illness, providing a multi-disciplined, coordinated approach to care.

This is because most people receiving in-home palliative care services are living with multiple chronic conditions simultaneously.

Palliative home care teams are highly skilled in managing the symptoms arising from these illnesses and specialise in optimising the person’s quality of life.

What does palliative care involve?

Palliative care is highly tailored to meet the unique needs of the person receiving it and can incorporate many different services from a range of experts.

Some of the most prominent features of in-home palliative care include:

Providing advice and assistance with pain relief medication, such as the use of opioids, which can make symptoms easier to manage and less distressing
Partnering with the person and their family to relieve fatigue, lack of appetite, coughing, and shortness of breath
Assisting with feeding, washing, toileting, and pressure management to minimise pressure injuries
Enhancing quality of life and empowering the person to remain active and independent for as long as possible
Support to meet cultural obligations
Providing emotional and spiritual care to the person and their family, for example, through chaplaincy care
Providing respite care so that primary caregivers can take regular time out to rest
Offering support to family members after their loved one has passed away.

Who delivers palliative care services at home?

Palliative care is delivered by a multidisciplinary team that works to address every need of the person and their family, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.

A palliative home care team will usually comprise:

Care workers – A critical part of the palliative home care team, care workers often establish close, trusting relationships with clients and provide both emotional and practical support.
Chaplains - to provide spiritual and emotional support if requested
Registered Nurses – providing in-home nursing care
General Practitioners – who work in conjunction with the rest of the team, supporting the coordination of care, and providing in-home visits
Palliative care consultant support services - Registered Nurses who are specialised in providing palliative care to support clients and families with the most complex needs.
Allied Health professionals - who use their discipline-specific skills to optimise comfort, dignity and holistic care for clients receiving palliative care at home.

What is the difference between palliative care and end of life care at home?

Palliative care is often mistaken for end of life care, but in fact, end of life care is a specific component – and the final stage - of palliative care.

End of life care at home relieves many of the common physical symptoms associated with dying, such as breathlessness, pain, or anxiety.

During this time, the person’s palliative care team provide more intensive care to facilitate a natural, dignified death in line with the person’s wishes.

These wishes are recorded formally in what is known as an “Advance Care Plan.”

What is an Advance Care Plan?

The Advance Care Plan is a communication process that enables individuals to make plans about their future health care for when they are no longer in a position to communicate their own healthcare choices.

The Advance Care Plan’s main objective is to detail the person’s wishes for their end of life care and is reviewed and updated throughout the palliative care process. It ensures that the person receives the end of life care they want.

Learn more about Advance Care Planning, below

Learn more

Is palliative care at home affordable?

Palliative care at home can be funded through a Home Care Package, meaning that you can access all of the available palliative care services at a subsidised rate.

Home Care Packages (HCPs) are a government-funded service that enables older Australians to continue living independently in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible.

There are four Home Care Package levels, and, depending on your requirements and care needs, they can include a wide range of services – including palliative care delivered right in the comfort of your own home.

You can learn more, here.

Palliative care with BaptistCare at home

At BaptistCare, our trained palliative care teams work with a strong people-first approach. They take time to connect with each person’s story and understand who they were before they became ill.

If you are at the beginning of your or your loved one’s palliative care journey, our team are here to help you.

Our expert team can guide you through the care and support services we have available.

Please call 1300 275 227 (Monday to Friday, from 8:00am to 6:00pm) or email us at ask@baptistcare.org.au. Alternatively, complete the enquiry form below, and one of our helpful team members will be in touch.