Mrs Carmen Sanchez1, Ms Jennifer Johnston2
1Northern Sydney Home Nursing Service, NSLHD, Australia, 2Northern Sydney Home Nursing Service, NSLHD, Australia
Biography:
Carmen Sanchez is a Chinese Speaking Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner with over 20 years of experience across Sydney, Adelaide, and the UK. Carmen is actively engaged in research and serves on several professional and advisory groups. She leverages her clinical expertise to ensure that everyone receive the high-quality palliative care they deserve.
Jennifer Johnston is an experienced community nurse with over 20 years’ experience in palliative and aged care. Passionate about supporting clients to remain at home with dignity and comfort. Her dedication to holistic, community-based support reflects a deep commitment to making a meaningful difference when it matters most.
Abstract:
Background:
Palliative care patients in the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) has the existing telephone-based support model to provide support during after-hours periods. While effective for many, some situations require urgent in-person assessment and intervention. To address this gap, the Safer @ Home project was launched in June 2025—an innovative, Nurse Practitioner (NP)- led model providing face-to-face specialist palliative care support in the community from Friday to Monday, 10:00 am to 6:30 pm.
Aims:
The initiative aims to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and enable patients to remain at home or in their preferred place of care. It seeks to support home deaths in line with patient wishes and to reduce distress for families and carers through rapid response, expert symptom management, and timely end-of-life planning during periods of deterioration.
Methods:
The model integrates a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner and Specialist Palliative Care Nurse within existing community nursing teams. Working collaboratively with specialist palliative care team, Virtual Care Services, NSW Ambulance, GPs, hospitals, community aged care team, and group homes, it delivers both virtual and in-person home visits. This embedded approach ensures continuity, smooth transitions, and efficient use of existing resources such as fleet vehicles and medical equipment.
Results:
In its first 14 weeks, Safer @ Home supported 92 complex patients and conducted 75 home visits. One notable case involved a patient seen within 90 minutes of referral who died peacefully at home two hours later. Families consistently reported reassurance and gratitude for the rapid, high-quality specialist care received over weekends, highlighting the critical value of rapid, skilled and timely intervention.
Conclusion:
Safer @ Home fills a major service gap in after-hours palliative care in NSLHD. This nurse-led, collaborative model has demonstrated measurable benefits and offers a scalable, sustainable approach deserving of continued funding beyond the current two-year period.