Palliative care beds to be cut

Inga Williams

ROSIE Blindell sits devotedly beside her dying mother Peggy Comb's bed at Canossa Private Hospital at Seventeen Mile Rocks.

It's a scene of affection and care between a daughter and mother as they hold hands and quietly chat with one another.

On the wall facing her bed, Ms Comb sees messages of love and support from family and friends marked on a whiteboard.

For four years, Ms Comb, 87, has fought bravely against four different types of cancer.

Now her frail body can no longer battle the disease and with each passing day she slips away.

But through the assistance of Canossa's publicly-funded palliative care, Ms Comb awaits the end of her life with a calm acceptance.

Her private room barely resembles a hospital environment, with cosy armchairs, a television, bright pictures hanging from walls and patterned quilts on the bed.

Palliative care focuses on providing the best quality of life for people with serious illnesses, where there is little or no hope for a cure.

"It's a critical service that caters to the needs of a patient and their family at the end stage of life," Ms Blindell said.

"The compassion that the specialist nurses show at Canossa each day is phenomenal.

"And it's reassuring to know that when I can't be here for mum, there will be someone here to hold her hand and give her comfort."

But this particular service which has supported Peggy and her family during the last three weeks is threatened at Canossa Private Hospital.

According to Canossa Services director Sheree Ritchie the publicly-funded beds are in danger of becoming closed.

"At this stage, our contract for publicly funded palliative care beds is due to finish on March, 6," Ms Ritchie said.

"Beds would then be moved to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital.

"That means anyone in the area who requires palliative care and doesn't have private health will now have to travel to Coopers Plains."

Ms Ritchie said the move would leave a real void in the community.

"If you have a loved one in palliative care, you want that service to be near your home so you can easily visit them," Ms Ritchie said.

Ms Blindell agreed and said the move seemed more like a financial decision by the State Government rather than an emotional one.

"Dealing with losing a loved one is hard enough," Ms Blindell said. "But having a poor experience of that can affect a person for years to come.

"It's the holistic approach to care that makes this service at Canossa so special, addressing the social, emotional and spiritual needs of a patient as well as those of their family."

Metro South Health Service District CEO Dr David Theile said Metro South was negotiating with Canossa to secure sub-acute services for the remainder of the financial year.

Palliative care comes under the umbrella of sub-acute services as well as rehabilitation care and geriatric evaluation and management.

"The negotiations will determine the type of sub-acute services which can be provided by Canossa," Dr Theile said.

There are 10 new palliative care beds due to open at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in March 2012.