Palliative Care WA Inc is the Western Australian peak body for palliative care and aims to consult, inform, support and collaborate with community and palliative care/aged care sectors to ensure access to quality palliative care for all Western Australians.

Carers WA is the peak body representing the needs and interests of carers in Western Australia and is part of a national network of Carers Associations. Carers provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends living with a disability, long term medical condition (including terminal and chronic illness), mental health challenge, substance dependency or frailty due to age. Carers WA is committed to achieving an improved quality of life for carers through advocacy, service provision and active partnerships.

Both organisations recognise the critical importance of early planning for the last stage of life, known as Advanced Care Planning (ACP). This process involves individual reflection, identification of values, priorities and wishes followed by discussions with the unwell person to plan for their end of life. A critical consideration within this process is ensuring the carer is supported in managing their caring role and looking after their own health and wellbeing.

To meet an identified current gap in service delivery, an Advanced Care Planning Pilot program between Palliative Care WA and Carers WA is being trialed. This pilot program will engage families, on an individual and personal basis, to progress Advance Care Planning as well as identify and support carers to access services through Carer Gateway.

Engagement with families will be undertaken face-to-face, either within individuals’ homes or at the offices of PCWA and Carers WA. For carers and families in regional and rural locations, this service will be delivered face-to-face (if possible) or via available technology.

Prior to engaging with the Advanced Care Planning pilot program, families will be encouraged to attend an ACP community workshop facilitated by Palliative Care WA to be ready to participate in discussions, connect with services and complete the required paperwork. It is recognised that these are often complex discussions and may take multiple sessions to complete.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The Advanced Care Planning Support Officer will be responsible for managing and executing the ACP pilot program. The role is equivalent to 0.8 FTE (up to 4 days per week) for 12 the month pilot with possible extension.

Key responsibilities include:

• Meeting with individuals and families to assist them in progressing Advance Care Planning
• Supporting carers to access services available through the federal Carer Gateway initiative, utilising a Carers StarTM needs assessment tool to develop tailored action plans of supports and services.
• Facilitating monthly peer support workshops for carers, utilising Carer Gateway’s In-Person Peer Support framework (relevant training to facilitate workshops to be provided).
• Develop and implement a data management process and evaluation tool to record the activity of the pilot program and report on program outcomes.
• Engage with the broader community to increase awareness of carer supports and the Advanced Care Planning pilot program.
• Collaborate with the Palliative Care WA team, and in particular the ACP Community Education Officer, regarding the development / collation of community resources required to support the delivery of this service.
• Contribute to the development of a marketing and communication strategy, led by the Marketing and Communication Officer at Palliative Care WA and in collaboration with Carers WA, to promote this pilot service.

Key Selection Criteria

Essential:

• A relevant qualification (Cert IV Community Services, Diploma Social Sciences, Psychology, Social Work) and a minimum of 3 years’ experience in the community services sector.
• Knowledge of intake, planning, supporting and referral processes for individuals within the area of carer support, health, aged care, disability or mental health.
• Highly developed group facilitation skills
• Proven competence with person centred practices supporting individuals to increase independence, participation and wellbeing.
• Knowledge and understanding of Advance Care Planning processes, palliative care and end of life issues.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills in a community service or health-based context and an ability to engage with people from a wide variety of socio-economic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
• Project management experience and expertise.
• Current Police Clearance and Working with Children’s check.
• Understanding of carers and the impact of the caring role.
• Fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and an up to date flu vaccination.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the aged care sector.
• Public speaking and presentation skills.
• Knowledge and implementation of evaluation techniques and procedures.

Specific Outputs and Outcomes

Role Deliverables:

• Quantity of meetings with individuals and families to facilitate Advance Care Planning and carer support discussions.
• Quantity of individuals and families where support is provided to complete wishes documents, Enduring Power of Attorney, Enduring Power of Guardianship, Advanced Health Directives and facilitate access to Carer Gateway carer supports.
• Quantity and completion of Carer Gateway Carer StarTM Planning sessions and carer support action plans.
• Facilitation of peer support workshops as per schedule.
• Development of a tailored resource pack for community members engaging with this service, in collaboration with Carers WA and Palliative Care WA teams.
• Development and implementation of an effective data management process and evaluation tool to record and report the work undertaken within the pilot program.
• Accurate and timely record keeping and reporting.

Program Outcomes:

• Carers and their families within WA have easy access to personalised support to undertake Advance Care Planning processes.
• Increased awareness, understanding and uptake of ACP within the carer community in WA.
• Increased referrals and utilisation of the Carer Gateway carer supports and engagement with Carer Gateway In-Person Peer Support.
• Increased referrals and utilisation of Palliative Care Helpline services.
• Engagement of the health care sector to promote ACP and carer support.
• Evidential and evaluative data and statistics regarding ACP Pilot program.