Mrs Beth Thomas1
1Fitzroy Community Hospice, Rockhampton, Australia
Biography:
In 41 years of nursing, my clinical nursing experience has mainly been in medical and Oncology/Palliative Care areas. For several years I held senior hospital management roles before taking on my current role.
I have worked in both public and private hospitals and gained much experience in working with dedicated staff across both sectors.
Palliative care is a calling and when I heard that a hospice was being opened in Rockhampton, I decided this was the next chapter in my nursing career.
Abstract:
Background:
The Central Qld region has a diverse ethnic mix. First Nations people are 7.2% of our population against a Qld average of 4.6%. We also have the top 5 countries of birth besides Australia as New Zealand, England, Phillipines, South Africa and India.
Since opening our hospice in June 2024, we have admitted 252 patients. Patients had a demographic profile from 9 different countries as well as 6.3% identifying as First Nations people.
Aims and Methods:
So how do we ensure that our bereavement support is specific to their individual cultural needs? We are lucky to have a Consumer and Community Advisory Group (CCAG) that are proactive and multi cultural. We met with this group and used their feedback to establish several bereavement support programs.
Our nursing staff had recognised a deficit in cultural awareness with death rituals and preferences. With the support of our CCAG, we planned and held a Cultural Awareness Seminar for all health practitioners in the CQ area. Over 52 people attended and 7 ethnic groups provided insight into the customs at the time of death and afterwards.
Results:
With the CCAG support and advice, we have developed bereavement packs for families to take home and commenced our ‘Cuppa and a Chat’ bereavement support group sessions that are held every second Tuesday.
Conclusions:
We will continue to value the advice and support of our multicultural representatives who assist us to meet the needs of all our community.