One of Australia’s most significant trusts has awarded a grant to the La Trobe University Palliative Care Unit (LTUPCU).
Equities Trustees (The Wicking Trust) will provide $1.5million over five years to the LTUPCU to help it build on its foundational work in developing public health approaches to palliative care.
Established under the terms of the Will of the late John Oswald Wicking, The Wicking Trust supports organisations to effect systemic change in wellness and quality of life of the aged and those with, or at risk of, Alzheimer’s disease.
Director Bruce Rumbold thanked The Wicking Trust for its support of the LTUPCU.
“These funds will greatly assist us to continue to develop systemic and innovative solutions that improve end-of-life care outcomes,” Dr Rumbold said.
“Our aim is to harness the strengths and resourcefulness of the networks of care that already exist across jurisdictions and communities and help them increase capacity to support older Australians at the end of their life.”
Projects Manager Andrea Grindrod said more than 25 stakeholders across Australia were using the LTUPCU’s Health End of Life Project (HELP) framework to support local initiatives.
“We’ve had an extraordinary level of interest and our work is off to a solid start,” Ms Grindrod said.
“Funding will help us continue to work with national, state and local government to develop sound social policies on end-of-life choice and develop multi-faceted interventions that can be implemented through community participation across sectors, jurisdictions and services.”
Palliative Care Australia (PCA) CEO Rohan Greenland said the project would continue to strengthen the link between public health and palliative care.
“PCA as a partner in this project is looking forward to assisting in the development of coordinated partnerships, to produce long-term, sustainable impacts that will enable older Australians to receive care according to their end-of-life preferences,” Mr Greenland said.
The LTUPCU is part of the La Trobe School of Psychology and Public Health.
