A palliative care outpatient clinic has opened in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, allowing patients to receive specialised support closer to home.
The service has started at Maleny Soldier’s Memorial Hospital, where rural generalist Dr Bec Devereaux is providing appointments.
She started the clinic to help patients stay in their homes longer and not have to travel long distances for support
“We’re able to have these remote patients not have to drive long distances, which are exhausting and tiring for these patients, so that they’re able to have outpatient support locally in their community,” she said.
“This gives people access to a local, dignified, caring and compassionate service during their end-of-life journeys.”
The appointments offer check-ups, treatments and supports, allowing patients to stay home with their families for longer.
“They get support quicker, and we’ve now also been able to support patients to die at home.”
As their journey progresses, they can also opt to come into the existing palliative care beds in the hospital for inpatient care.
Ricky Lynch’s husband Joe, who was a well-known Irish poet and comedian and a cornerstone of Maleny’s community, was one of the first to be seen as an outpatient at the clinic.
“His GP referred him to the palliative care unit straight away,” she said.
“He was lucky enough, well we both were, to have been introduced to Bec fairly early in the piece.”
As his journey continued, Dr Devereaux was able to provide nearby medical support until he came into Maleny hospital as an inpatient.
Ms Lynch was grateful they could access care close to home, in a calm environment.
“The stress of travelling and driving and everything wasn’t there,” she said.
“Yes, we had sadness and we had all these horrible things that were going on, but we didn’t have stress.”
Ricky also recalled the peaceful environment of the Maleny facility.
“We could go for little walks around, we would sit over there on the bench, have a chat or go for a walk up, then just listen to the birds.”
“I think it was just beautiful. It was dignified, calm.”
Palliative care extends into bereavement for the patient’s family, and Ms Lynch was pleased to have maintained a connection with the hospital team.
“A big huge thank you, from me, from Joe and from our family and friends. Because I think it kept us sane, it could have been a different journey altogether,” she said.
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