Palliative Care South Australia (PCSA) will take to the steps of Parliament House on Monday 20th May 2024 to launch National Palliative Care Week. To raise awareness about the 'people at the heart of palliative care', 12,000 orange hearts will be exhibited to symbolise the average number of South Australians who would benefit from palliative care each year.
National Palliative Care Week will run from the 19-25th May 2024, which marks the nation's largest annual initiative aimed at deepening peoples understanding of palliative care and encouraging action around end-of-life planning.
A symbol for palliative care across the country is the orange heart. In addition to the Monday exhibition on Parliament House steps where the general community are encouraged to take a moment of reflection, orange heart pins will be sold for $5 to raise funds for Palliative Care South Australia to continue their charities work to educate, advocate and raise awareness of palliative care.
Following the exhibition on Monday, a street artist will be drawing orange hearts on the ground across Adelaide city on the Tuesday and that night the Adelaide Oval will light up in orange in support of palliative care.
Palliative Care Week is about raising awareness, but it's also about honouring our loved ones who have been cared for palliative care. We encourage the Adelaide community to visit the Parliament House steps on Monday morning between 8am-10am.
"They can place an orange heart sticker onto the exhibition in honour of someone they have known who has died from a life limiting condition" said Adjunct Associate Professor Shyla Mills, CEO, Palliative Care South Australia
"This exhibition provides both a moment of reflection and an opportunity to honour our loved ones".
PCSA also released a new publication for National Palliative Care Week: 2024-2026 Priorities for Palliative Care in SA. Which demonstrates the growing need for palliative care in SA and the priorities areas identified following a consultation with sectors experts.
The five identified priorities are:
1. Funding
2. Workforce
3. Access
4. Public Health Approaches to Palliative Care
5. Information and Research.
The publication was shared on Wednesday 15th May 2024 at a MP lunchbox event at Parliament House.
Throughout the week long awareness campaign Palliative Care SA and palliative care organisations will be hosting events and displays are open to community and health professionals, encouraging people to confront their fears and empower people to have greater control when it comes to 'matters of life and death.'
