The pandemic caused changes in many areas of our lives, one of them was the way we held our professional meetings. Thanks to technology, the Palliative Aged Care Network (PACN) was able to continue to meet bi-monthly after a brief pause at the beginning of the pandemic. In the past two years, this network of health professionals with a strong commitment to the principles of palliative care working primarily within the aged care sector have been meeting online. The network pursues opportunities to advocate for the advancement of palliative care within the aged care sector and to inform the wider palliative care speciality of aged care issues. This role is enhanced through its link as a special interest group of Palliative Care NSW.
Last Thursday PACN held their first face to face meeting in two years at the Anglicare Retirement Village in Castle Hill, NSW with the opportunity to network over lunch followed by the bi-monthly meeting in which online participants were also welcomed.
The network and this meeting were led by Larissa McIntyre (Chair) from Anglicare and we are pleased to welcome newly elected Deputy Chair, Kelly Arthurs from Northern Sydney LHD.
As part of the meetings, a guest speaker is invited to present. In this instance, Janeen Foffani, PEPA NSW Project Manager, presented ‘PEPA NSW Project and Opportunities’ to attendees. Janeen spoke about PEPA, IPEPA, their objectives and placement opportunities.
Followed by Janeen’s presentation, the opportunity to provide advice on the new Aged Care Act – Exposure Draft was discussed and noted. PACN Terms of Reference were also discussed, approved and updated.
A valuable part of these meetings is the opportunity for attendees to share issues or experiences in their areas of work. This part of the meeting always highlights the value of peer to peer sharing and learning, with good discussions had on solutions to often common problems.
PCNSW is pleased to support this important network and encourages health professionals with a particular interest in palliative care within the aged care sector to join PACN as a way of connecting with your peers and contributing to advocacy, education and sharing of innovation in this space
If you are interested in joining the network, please click on the following link:
https://palliativecarensw.org.au/health-professionals/palliative-aged-care-network-nsw/