The carer

Palliative Care Australia 2008

• Dying is part of life. The care of people at the end of life, their families and carers is the responsibility of the whole community.
• Carers must be recognised as both a key partner in the care team and a recipient of care in accordance with the palliative care service provision model.
• Enabling people’s preferences to receive quality care at the end of life in the setting of their choice is dependent upon ongoing physical, emotional, practical and spiritual support from individual carers and their communities as well as health professional support.
• The extent and quality of support provided to the carer and the person nearing the end of life is a key determinant of both of their experiences. The whole community should support them.
• As a community we can and must do better in supporting carers by developing the foundations of a carer supportive social system that provides the necessary support to enable carers to provide care in a manner that also promotes their health, wellbeing and personal aspirations.