Jeremy Rockliff,Premier
Minister for Health
Applications are now open for a small grants program aimed at strengthening the Tasmanian community's capacity to discuss, facilitate and provide palliative care.
The grants are a collaboration between Primary Health Tasmania (Tasmania PHN) and the Tasmanian Department of Health, and are funded jointly by the Tasmanian Government under the Palliative Care Partnerships Funding and the Australian Government under the Greater Choice for At-Home Palliative Care Measure.
Not-for-profit community organisations can apply for a grant of up to $20,000 to promote resilience and resourcefulness, build social connections, and facilitate opportunities for physical, mental and psychosocial wellbeing around the topic of death and dying.
Care and support providers can apply for a grant of up to $50,000 to support the delivery of quality improvement initiatives focused on the coordination of services for people living with a life-limiting condition.
Premier and Minister for Health, Jeremy Rockliff, said that the Tasmanian Govenrment is committed to ensuring Tasmanians have access to the best possible palliative care when and where they, their families, and carers need it.
"We have invested $6.8m into improving palliative care services in partnership with service providers as part of a 4-year budget commitment," Premier Rockliff said.
"This grant program, delivered in collaboration with Primary Health Tasmania, will support service providers and community organisations to deliver a compassionate approach to palliative care."
Primary Health Tasmania CEO, Phil Edmondson, said 70 per cent of Australians want to die at home, but only 14% do so.
"Often people don't die at home either because support services are inadequate, or because they have not articulated and implemented their choice through proper discussion and planning," he said.
"We hope initiatives funded through these grants will see more Tasmanians feeling comfortable talking about death and dying, having a better awareness of and access to palliative care and other services, and being more likely to receive end-of-life care where they would like to."
Mr Edmondson said the grants program was a great example of governments working together for the good of the population they serve.
