A lifeline for life’s toughest challenge
A new comprehensive online resource is now available to Tasmanians, and has been labelled a godsend by those with experience caring for terminally ill loved ones at home.
A NEW online resource aimed at assisting Tasmanians providing palliative care at home care is now available as local advocates welcome the launch.
According to Carers Tasmania CEO David Brennan, four out of five Tasmanians will need to provide palliative care for a loved one in their lifetime – well above the national average of one-in-eight, and four out of five Australians will need palliative care in their final day.
Mr Brennan knows first hand the challenges of caring for a loved one having lost his mother and brother to terminal illness in recent years.
“Most of us will have to confront either needing palliative care ourselves or caring for someone does,” he said.
“A few years ago my mother got cancer and passed within about 11 weeks of diagnosis.
“It wasn’t something we prepared for … when it came, we were shell-shocked, we didn’t know where to go for information and we didn’t know what support was available.
“My sisters, brother and I didn’t even know we were carers – we hadn’t thought to classify ourselves that way or realise that with that comes different responsibilities, duties and tasks.
Carerhelp is newly-launched web portal offering advice and support for Australians who have taken on the role of caring for a terminally-ill parent, partner, relative or friend.
“In Tasmania, doctors can be few and far between and if you’re in a remote or rural area, you don’t get access to a GP,” Mr Brennan said.
“That’s why this site is so important – it’s a fantastic site that helps you understand the journey and what will happen through the palliative process.”
The initiative led by St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne’s Centre for Palliative Care in partnership with Flinders University’s CareSearch, University of Technology Sydney and Carers Australia has helped thousands of Australians supporting a person in their final weeks and days of life.
“CarerHelp addresses the information needs that carers have told us are important when someone is coming to the end of their life – what to expect as a terminal illness progresses, the practical aspects of caring, how to access community services and the obligatory legal and financial considerations involved in caring, dying and funerals,” Centre for Palliative Care’s Professor Peter Hudson said.
The information is available through a number of videos and downloadable information in article, fact sheet and checklist formats for family carers.
The website includes a page called Carer Voice which hosts a series of videos featuring carers who reflect on their own real-life experiences, offering insight into all parts of the carer experience including deciding whether you are the right person to provide care, and how to cope with grief and loss.
Creators believe CarerHelp is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the world.
CarerHelp was built by the Australian Family Carer Toolkit Project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
For more information visit Carerhelp.com.au or call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.
Originally published as A lifeline for life’s toughest challenge
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