National Palliative Care Week was launched today at the Art Gallery NSW.
Palliative Care NSW Executive Officer Linda Hansen and Acting President Prof Deb Parker spoke on behalf of Palliative Care NSW and introduced the art initiative with the Art Gallery NSW and UTS.
The Hon Bronwyn Taylor, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier and Southern NSW officated over the official launch and spoke passionately about her connection to palliative care.
“I’m really thrilled to be here to launch National Palliative Care Week.
“When people ask me what I used to do…I spend my life saying to people that I used to be a nurse. My specialty was palliative care I spent 8 years as a clinical nurse specialist in palliative care working out of the Monaro region.
” When I started I worked for Sydney Nursing Service out of Royal North Shore Hospital and I was working with the CNC in cancer care and palliative care, and that really sparked my love of palliative care and in that particular field of nursing. It was a very formative part of my career.
“So I share your issues, I share your angst and I’d like to champion more for you in parliament. Of course there are challenges but all challenges can be met.
“I think at the end of the day that palliative care is one of the more rewarding aspects of nursing and such a privilege.
“And often when I think about things and what palliative care taught me, it really taught me about the difficult conversations that we have to have. As a palliative care specialist you are able to have those conversations, and we have to, because we have to do the right thing by our patients, and that’s an incredible gift.
“So I think (awareness raising) weeks like these are very, very important because I think that we need to make people understand what it is that you do in palliative care.
“You are so much more than what some people think palliative care is and we need to be able … to articulate that to our communities.”
Pic: Hon Bronwyn Taylor MLC launching National Palliative Care Week