❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding palliative care services, funding, and the future of specific programs initiated under a 2008 election commitment. The response provides details on past funding, current allocations, and evaluations of key initiatives, noting that future funding is under consideration.
AnsweredQoN 8730Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to services for palliative care in Western Australia and ask:
(a) why was the 3 year contract with the non-government organisation Palliative Care WA, which enabled them to employ a full time staff member and provide information to the public, media and health service organisations around end of life decisions and palliative care services, not renewed in February 2011;
(b) what is total amount of operational funding the State Government spent on palliative care services in the last financial year;
(c) what is the total amount of operational funding allocated in forward estimates for State Government spending on palliative care services for the financial years 2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2014–2015 and 2015–2016; and
(d) as part of a 2008 election commitment, $14 million has been spent over the past four years on improving palliative care services in Western Australia, including the Liverpool Care Pathway, new regional palliative care services and new ambulatory care consultation services, and I ask, what is the future of these programs for the next four years; and
(i) has money been allocated in forward estimates to ensure their continuation and if so, how much funding has been allocated for this purpose;
(ii) has the State Government received a business case for the continuation of these services and if so, what is the estimated cost per annum of their continuation; and
(iii) have these services been formally evaluated or reviewed and if so, what was the outcome or recommendation of the review?
(a) why was the 3 year contract with the non-government organisation Palliative Care WA, which enabled them to employ a full time staff member and provide information to the public, media and health service organisations around end of life decisions and palliative care services, not renewed in February 2011;
(b) what is total amount of operational funding the State Government spent on palliative care services in the last financial year;
(c) what is the total amount of operational funding allocated in forward estimates for State Government spending on palliative care services for the financial years 2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2014–2015 and 2015–2016; and
(d) as part of a 2008 election commitment, $14 million has been spent over the past four years on improving palliative care services in Western Australia, including the Liverpool Care Pathway, new regional palliative care services and new ambulatory care consultation services, and I ask, what is the future of these programs for the next four years; and
(i) has money been allocated in forward estimates to ensure their continuation and if so, how much funding has been allocated for this purpose;
(ii) has the State Government received a business case for the continuation of these services and if so, what is the estimated cost per annum of their continuation; and
(iii) have these services been formally evaluated or reviewed and if so, what was the outcome or recommendation of the review?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 November 2012
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
50 days
(a) Palliative Care WA is a patient and carer "Peak Body" advisory NGO that has the primary role of advocating for palliative care in Western Australia. It is not a palliative care service provider. In February 2008 the Department of Health, provided a 3 year contract to Palliative Care WA with the intent of the service agreement to be short term 'seed' funding to establish sufficient infrastructure and capacity to fulfil the demands of its role in Western Australia. The contractual requirements of this funding were met and reports accepted. The contract was not renewed as the group has now become established, has developed links to the Palliative Care Australia and is represented on WA Health Department, Palliative Care Network Advisory committee along with other groups like Silver Chain, Murdoch Hospice and academic bodies.
(b) Estimated operational expenditure in 2011/12 was $28.1 million for existing clinical palliative care services - inclusive of contracted services, for example Silver Chain, St John of God Hospice, Murdoch.
Additional funding of $3.67m was provided in 2011/12 to the Department of Health Palliative Care Network under the 2008 Liberal State election commitment (which totalled $14m over 4 yrs). This election commitment supports the Palliative Services Project Fund which improved access to palliative care through care coordination, introduction of Liverpool pathways for end of life, implementation of models of care inclusive of paediatric in PMH and rural models of care to provide coordinated palliative care across the seven WACHS regions.
(c) Clinical palliative care services (note: excludes election commitment funding):
2012-2013 $28.4 million
2013-2014 $29.8 million
2014-2015 $31.1 million
2015-2016 $32.7 million
(d)(i - ii): The future of this Palliative Care Network led state wide coordination program is under consideration by Government.
(iii): A formal evaluation has been conducted of:
- the implementation of the "Rural Palliative Care Model" which has provided a framework for structured, sustainable, coordinated regional palliative care services with core teams in all seven rural regions. The evaluation found that the Rural Model of Care has improved palliative care in rural WA. The key recommendation is the current rural palliative care model should be maintained, this is currently under consideration by the government.
- the non-cancer Paediatric Palliative Care Service at Princess Margaret Hospital. This review found steady growth of the service and positive feedback from all groups who interact with it (families, health professionals and community providers). The key recommendation was to access ongoing and permanent funding for the future development of the service, this is currently under consideration by the government.
- the implementation of the Liverpool Care Pathway in three rural regions - the Midwest, South West and the Great Southern. The key outcomes demonstrated were improved symptom management, improved communication between care providers, the patient and family and increased caregiver satisfaction for patients who are in the last days of life. This is currently under consideration by the government.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(b) Estimated operational expenditure in 2011/12 was $28.1 million for existing clinical palliative care services - inclusive of contracted services, for example Silver Chain, St John of God Hospice, Murdoch.
Additional funding of $3.67m was provided in 2011/12 to the Department of Health Palliative Care Network under the 2008 Liberal State election commitment (which totalled $14m over 4 yrs). This election commitment supports the Palliative Services Project Fund which improved access to palliative care through care coordination, introduction of Liverpool pathways for end of life, implementation of models of care inclusive of paediatric in PMH and rural models of care to provide coordinated palliative care across the seven WACHS regions.
(c) Clinical palliative care services (note: excludes election commitment funding):
2012-2013 $28.4 million
2013-2014 $29.8 million
2014-2015 $31.1 million
2015-2016 $32.7 million
(d)(i - ii): The future of this Palliative Care Network led state wide coordination program is under consideration by Government.
(iii): A formal evaluation has been conducted of:
- the implementation of the "Rural Palliative Care Model" which has provided a framework for structured, sustainable, coordinated regional palliative care services with core teams in all seven rural regions. The evaluation found that the Rural Model of Care has improved palliative care in rural WA. The key recommendation is the current rural palliative care model should be maintained, this is currently under consideration by the government.
- the non-cancer Paediatric Palliative Care Service at Princess Margaret Hospital. This review found steady growth of the service and positive feedback from all groups who interact with it (families, health professionals and community providers). The key recommendation was to access ongoing and permanent funding for the future development of the service, this is currently under consideration by the government.
- the implementation of the Liverpool Care Pathway in three rural regions - the Midwest, South West and the Great Southern. The key outcomes demonstrated were improved symptom management, improved communication between care providers, the patient and family and increased caregiver satisfaction for patients who are in the last days of life. This is currently under consideration by the government.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.