Palliative Care NSW Biennial State Conference

8–10 November 2018

The Clinical Excellence Commission has been awarded the Best Overall Poster Presentation for its poster 'Community Pharmacy Palliative Care Initiative', at the Palliative Care NSW Biennial State Conference, held in Kiama.

The conference theme was "Riding the Waves of Change" with presentations and discussions exploring how palliative and end of life care has been provided in the past, what the challenges are now, and how we can prepare to embrace opportunities in the future.

Presentations included Palliative sedation, the patient’s awareness in the state of unconsciousness, and using medicinal cannabis for symptoms that are hard to manage. The CEC's Bernadette King, Senior Manager, Team Culture and Communication, also co-presented a workshop on Last Days of Life Tools.

"There were many highlights from the key note speakers and presentations provided throughout the three-day event," said Kylee Sheehy, CEC Community Pharmacy Palliative Care Initiative Project Officer.

"These insights have allowed the CEC’s knowledge of Palliative and End of Life care to grow, giving some very real ways to implement change for the better through our programs and support we offer to all health care professionals in NSW," she said.

There was also significant interest at the conference from delegates in the CEC's Community Pharmacy Palliative Care Initiative, with discussions centred on the work to date and the recommendations stemming from Phase 1 of the Initiative.

"These discussions allow the CEC to take into consideration the recommendations from health professionals across NSW and Australia to shape our programs and improving our aim to provide the best care possible to patients." said Kylee.

Kylee Sheehy,pictured beside CEC’s winning poster

Kylee Sheehy, Community Pharmacy Palliative Care Initiative Project Officer, pictured beside CEC's winning poster.