What Our Team Can Offer

What our Team can offer to Clients, Carers and Families

24-Hour Care Service

Our expert staff are available every day of the week to provide support over the phone or visit.  During office hours (Monday – Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm) our team can assist with any issues, including:

• if you have a health-related inquiry or concern;
• if you are concerned about a family member or friend who is a client of Banksia, or who you think would benefit from our support;
• to reschedule an appointment or visit;
• to speak with a Banksia staff member, and
• for general information.

In the after-hours period (after 5:00 pm and before 8:30 am Monday – Friday, weekends, and public holidays) clients will speak with our partner service who provides expert advice and support and will contact the Banksia nurse on call as required.

Our on-call nurse is available to offer support and advice throughout this after-hours period and will visit the home under urgent circumstances, such as a sudden deterioration in your condition or an increase in your symptoms that you and your carer are unable to manage without support.

We will always prioritise anyone with issues overnight for a visit the following morning if required.

Banksia services are provided at no cost to our clients and their carers.

Palliative Care Physicians

We have our own team of expert Palliative Care Doctors, who specialise in palliative medicine, providing clients with relief from any symptoms and stresses they may be experiencing as a result of their illness. Our Doctor’s overall goal is to improve the quality of life for our clients, their families, and/or carers.

Our doctors will visit you at your place of residence to review any symptoms that may need additional support to be effectively managed.  There may also be times that we suggest clients come into our clinic, located at our office, to speak with our doctors.

Our doctors will work alongside GPs and specialists, communicating with our client’s medical team throughout their journey with Banksia. They all work together to ensure there is continuity of care across the multidisciplinary fields that are managing client care.

Palliative Care Nurses

Our Palliative Care Nurses are specialist nurses with advanced skills and expertise to support your general well-being and symptom management, including pain, nausea, tiredness, changes in appetite or changes in mobility.  They will assist you, your family, and carers with any other concerns or issues that may arise.

Our clinical nursing team is comprised of diversely skilled nurses who are uniquely linked by their like-minded dedication to providing exceptional care to people living with palliative conditions. Their varied experience brings significant depth to the services that Banksia provides daily. Their work requires a very unique and specific skillset – the work is emotional and sensitive, requiring innovative, empathetic, flexible, caring health professionals with exceptional communication and listening skills.

Our nurses work with our wider clinical team creating a cohesive, invested, and committed team who make an exceptional difference in the lives of others daily.

Support and Well-Being Team

All clients and families of Banksia are allocated a Support and Wellbeing Team member who, with sensitivity to any cultural, personal, and privacy requirements, assists with a variety of practical and emotional support issues. Our team works closely with our clients and their loved ones to support their emotional well-being, seek opportunities to decrease financial burdens, and identify any other additional supports they may need.   This includes:

• Provide counselling and emotional support for clients and their families.
• Arranging home help and respite care.
• Assistance with any financial burdens or stresses.
• Navigating Centrelink.
• Liaising with workplaces or schools.
• Accessing My Aged Care, and if needed, transition to an Aged Care Facility.
• Advance Care Directives.
• Pastoral Care liaison.
• Arranging family meetings for optimal communication and transparency

Advance Care Planning 

The Banksia team supports Advance Care Planning (ACP) discussions to ensure that client’s wishes and preferences are known should the situation arise when they are unable to speak for themselves.

Advance Care Planning is particularly important for people who are older and are frail, or people who have a chronic illness, multiple diseases, an early cognitive impairment, or are approaching their end of life.

An Advance Care Plan may involve appointing a Medical Treatment Decision Maker (MTDM) and completing an Advance Care Directive (ACD). An ACD answers, ‘What would I want to happen if I couldn’t speak for myself?’  It can also provide reassurance that, should the situation arise, loved ones will know their wishes and how to speak and act on behalf of their loved one.

Banksia Palliative Care Social Workers can:

• Discuss Advance Care Planning with clients and their families/carers.
• Provide information regarding what to consider when appointing a Medical Treatment Decision Maker.
• Assist clients in working out what is important to them to be included in ACD.
• Facilitate a session with clients to complete the ACD documentation.

For more information or for Advance Care Planning Forms, click here. 

Client and Carer Support Team

Caring for someone with a palliative illness can be a rich and rewarding experience.  Banksia supports carers throughout this journey.  Our team supports carers to monitor and maintain their own health and wellbeing whilst assisting and empowering them to continue to care for their family or friend.

Our Client and Carer Support (CCSP) Team provides in-home education and training related to support managing care needs as a client’s condition changes. The team can provide education regarding how to move/reposition a client safely, how to wash a client, and how to provide basic care. Their support and guidance can decrease anxiety and aid in increasing confidence, allowing carers and families to feel empowered to address client care needs in the home.

Respite can also be provided through our CCSP Team. This gives clients the opportunity for some companionship and gives family and/or carers some time to recharge or run some errands.

The family and/or carer are invited to remain at home during respite if they wish, do some gardening, take a bath, take a nap, read a book or they have the opportunity to leave the house for the duration of the respite.

 For further information, please click here. 

Empowering Carers Program

Our Empowering Carers Program combines Education and Social Support Groups to provide ongoing support and information to carers to help guide them through this role. They are aimed at providing carers with opportunities to learn, socialise with others, and gain support from health professionals including tools and physical activities to care for one’s self.

The Education component includes:

• What to expect when caring for someone with a terminal illness
• Self-care
• Questions

Click on News and Events for Upcoming Sessions.

Grief and Bereavement Support

We recognise that grief can occur before the death, during all the caring phases, and through the difficult period of end-of-life care and beyond and we’re here to support you, your family, and your carers through it all. Our grief and bereavement counselling is provided by specially trained and experienced counsellors who will provide support through all stages of the grieving process.

We also provide support in bereavement through:

• Information and education on grief, loss, and bereavement
• Time to reflect, and explore common thoughts, feelings, and reactions to loss.
• Strategies to support you and your family to manage the diverse and painful aspects of loss and uncertainty.
• Companionship and comfort during a personal time of change, transition, and adjustment.
• Support and strategies to help you learn to take care of yourself and your loved ones.

What we offer:

• Grief and Bereavement counselling for individuals and families which targets the specific needs of the person/family.
• Remembrance Services
• Bereaved Coffee and Walking Groups.

Our Bereavement Team is currently reviewing our services – please contact our office or your Social Worker to discuss how we can help you.

 Click here for more information on our bereavement services. 

Volunteer Support

Our volunteer team works alongside our team to provide holistic palliative care to our clients, their families, and/or carers.

All our volunteers have unique skill sets that we pair alongside palliative care training to ensure they are well equipped to provide clients, families, and/or carers support. We work hard to link like-minded people.

Our Volunteer Coordinator will visit your home to meet with you before arranging visits.  This allows us to determine your interests, hobbies, or background, so we can link you with a similar volunteer.

Our volunteers attend clients’ homes during the hours of 9am-4:00pm Monday-Friday for planned volunteer visits, and can stay for between 1 to 2 hours – this can be arranged regularly – weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.