PARLIAMENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

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  4. 29 May 2007

Palliative Care

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SpeakersSkinner Mrs Jillian
BusinessMatter of Public Importance

      PALLIATIVE CARE
Page: 349

      Matter of Public Importance

      Mrs JILLIAN SKINNER (North Shore—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [5.07 p.m.]: Last week was National Palliative Care Awareness Week. Palliative care is the specialised multidisciplinary and holistic care of someone suffering from an advanced progressive terminal illness. People with a terminal illness should have the choice of remaining in their own home with the assistance and care of health professionals, family and friends, but they should also have the choice and the opportunity to access acute hospital care and community-based care as well.
      At the launch of National Palliative Care Awareness Week last year Professor Sue Hanson, President of Palliative Care New South Wales, said that of the 65,000 Australians who die each year from a terminal illness or expected death, less than a third receive care from a palliative care service. Palliative care services can greatly improve the quality of life of someone who is dying and also provide tremendous support to families and others caring for them. Palliative care ranges from medications to relieve pain, nausea and other symptoms to community nursing, respite care, relaxation therapies and hospital treatment. It is usually provided by the most highly qualified, compassionate and caring health professionals, who provide assistance at a very distressing time in the life of the individual and his or her family.
      The New South Wales Health Department recognises that palliative care is an integral and essential part of a comprehensive healthcare system. It says on its website that New South Wales Health is committed to providing services that maximises the quality of life for people with progressive, advanced disease or terminal illness. The New South Wales Health palliative care framework of 2001 outlines key principles of palliative care service delivery, which include—and I will only outline a few that I think are relevant—that the patient and his or her carers are the focus of the care; there should be timely access to a range of disciplines and services; and services should be in a setting that is appropriate to the needs of the patient and family.

      I turn now to problems with providing important palliative care. Recently concerns have been raised by a number of members of Parliament, including the member for Clarence in the northern part of the State. Concerns have also been raised about Queanbeyan hospital. In particular, I refer to a matter in the Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service. Neringah Hospital has had a colourful career in terms of uncertainty about its future. As I have said many times in the House, I had the privilege of being with my best friend and holding her hand when she died in Neringah Hospital in 1988. She had cancer and she knew she was going to die. Being with my best friend, who had been my best friend since the age of 11, was the most awe-inspiring moment of my life. She had been my bridesmaid, she was my daughter's godmother, I was her bridesmaid and so on. Her care by the fantastic staff in Neringah Hospital could not be faulted.
      In 1996 Neringah Hospital was threatened with closure. In the early days the hospital provided rehabilitation services but in 1996 it was providing only palliative care. Although the hospital is highly regarded by the community, in 1996 the then Minister for Health, Andrew Refshauge, decided that it should close. That led to an outraged community expressing concern and rallying in the streets of Hornsby. The former member for Hornsby and I attended those rallies and supported the community. The current member for Hornsby and I have maintained the same position because there is still doubt about the future of this wonderful facility.
      At the end of 2005 the member for Hornsby and I issued a joint press release headed, "Is it the end for Neringah?". Here we are almost 10 years later and there is still a question mark hanging over the future of Neringah Hospital. In 2005 the Labor Government closed Neringah for the summer; it sent the patients to Greenwich hospital, which was miles away from their family and friends. Greenwich hospital is not airconditioned and the staff are run off their feet. The dedicated staff at Neringah Hospital are still uncertain about their future. Earlier this year the hospital was also closed for a month, with the patients transferred to Greenwich hospital. When people are in palliative care they want to be close to their family and friends. We want to make it as easy as possible for people.
      Neringah Hospital provides not only acute hospital care when people are dying but also respite care when families are no longer able to cope on a daily basis. Patients might spend a day or two at Neringah until they are well enough to go home again to be cared for by family and loved ones. That is impossible if local facilities are closed. The member for Hornsby and I are aware that there are more rumours that Neringah Hospital will be closed forever on 1 July this year. I seek an assurance from the Government that that will not happen, that at the very least palliative care and acute care services will be retained in the Hornsby area. It will be a tragedy if we cannot save Neringah. It will be a greater tragedy if these services are lost to the people of the area forever. Members should keep in mind that this service stretches up to the Central Coast; it covers the whole region.
      If palliative care services cannot be provided at Neringah, the Government should give a guarantee that they will be provided in one of the empty wards at Hornsby Hospital. Space is available; there are wards capable of being renovated to a standard that would accommodate these patients. I ask Government members to ensure that these important services are maintained for people who are dying and their families in this part of the world. If the services cannot be retained, the assurances given by Government members and successive health Ministers have been hollow ones. In June 1996 the then Minister for Health, Dr Andrew Refshauge, told the Parliament that palliative care and aged care are important health issues, particularly in an ageing population. He further said:
      There is also a need in the Hornsby region, which also has an ageing population, to increase palliative and aged care services.
      That commitment was repeated by Dr Refshauge's successor, Craig Knowles, and by others. I call on members to show some compassion for the people of the Hornsby area and in other parts of the North Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service where there is a critical shortage of such services. There are few services on the Central Coast. The member for Hornsby worked hard to pressure the Government to open extra beds and an acute care service in Long Jetty. We are also concerned about what appears to be an inequitable supply of wards dedicated to acute care and palliative care in this region. It is no good saying that an occasional bed can be made available in a general ward. These specialised staff deal with these patients regularly and they need a dedicated ward, a dedicated facility in a hospital, so that patients can die with dignity. They can provide the medications and other services that help patients to overcome the stress and pain of dying. They also provide much-needed support for patients' families at this devastating time of their lives. I urge all members of this House to contact the Minister for Health—in particular, I appeal to the Minister for Fair Trading, Minister for Youth, and Minister for Volunteering, because I know that this matter is dear to her heart— to plead with the Minister to save these services for Hornsby.

      Pursuant to standing orders business interrupted and set down as an order of the day for a later hour.

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