40 years of Silverchain’s palliative care at home sets WA ahead for end-of-life

Silverchain’s palliative care at home service in Western Australia has allowed more people in WA to die in their home, as their preferred place, compared to any other state or territory.

As Silverchain marks the 40^th anniversary of delivering palliative care, Silverchain Chief Executive Dale Fisher said while nationally only 14 per cent of people were able to die at home[1], Silverchain’s palliative care service enabled 60 per cent of its WA clients to die in their own home, as they wanted.

“We know 70 per cent of Australians want to die in their in home[2], but only Western Australia is close to achieving that. Through our partnership with the State Government, we have been there every day for 40 years across the entire Perth metropolitan area.”

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians said in the report that Silverchain in WA had been successful in facilitating the integration of end-of-life care across hospital, hospice and home settings[3].

“This speaks volumes about how Silverchain’s community specialist palliative care service is well integrated into how the WA’s health system approaches end-of-life care,” Ms Fisher said.

“We know most Perth residents understand their end-of-life options and value the opportunity to receive this care in their home. 

“While nationally, there is a real disconnect between what people want for end-of-life care, and what they can access, in WA, Silverchain’s palliative care service ensures people get the right care, in the right place and at the right time.

“For four decades, the gold standard of our palliative care service can be attributed to the professionalism and clinical expertise of our dedicated team. 

"Our service is also beautifully defined by our dedicated people who provide this care with complete compassion and unwavering commitment to our clients."

Silverchain’s palliative care in the home service began in August 1982 as a pilot program with the Western Australian Government, in partnership with Cancer Council WA. In 1984, Silverchain became the sole operator of the service that is now being accessed by 3,500 Western Australians every year, with patients ranging from just a few weeks old to over 100 years old.

Our palliative care team includes registered and enrolled nurses, doctors, spiritual care workers, social workers, volunteer coordinators, case coordinators, as well as allied health clinicians such as occupational therapists and physiotherapists. 

Silverchain’s palliative care service was also acknowledged in 2014 by the Grattan Institute, which identified the service as the “innovative way palliative care should be provided in Australia”. In 2020, a unique specialist dementia service was trialled and won a Palliative Care WA Award in 2021. The subsequent expansion of Silverchain’s palliative care service to incorporate the dementia service provides early integration of clients requiring palliative care and adds to the interdisciplinary approach.

Silverchain Executive Director, Western Australia Renae Lavell said industry recognition of the organisation’s palliative care team reflected the overall commitment of the entire team.

“Our team works diligently to enable our clients to maximise their time with loved ones while supporting and working to minimise the physical and emotional stress experienced by clients and those close to them,” Ms Lavell said.

Ms Lavell said a current pilot program to provide after-hours respite care for carers of palliative care clients was a further demonstration of how Silverchain was able to improve end-of-life experiences for clients and family.

“While we are still undertaking the pilot program, we can already see that the benefits of this service include reducing the physical and emotional stress involved in looking after someone,” Ms Lavell said.

“It all goes towards supporting someone’s choice to stay at home and to prevent hospitalisations where possible. Our service supports each client’s unique needs with interdisciplinary and complex health services, while also complementing a person’s existing support network.”

The Productivity Commission’s end-of-life report can be accessed here

Photo - From left: Silverchain Chief Executive, Dale Fisher, Minister for Health, Western Australia, The Hon. Amber-Jade Sanderson MP, Silverchain Executive Director, Western Australia, Renae Lavell.