Bupa has expanded end-of-life care choices for its customers in Melbourne by giving the option of receiving personalised palliative care services delivered in the privacy of their own home.
The Bupa Palliative Care Choices Program (BPCCP) will be delivered by Home Support Services, one of Australia’s leading in-home healthcare companies.
After a thorough assessment, and with a personalised care plan in place, patients in the BPCCP will be able to have palliative care nurses, doctors and other specialist health professionals visit their home to manage their care, with out-of-hours support available 24/7.
Bupa’s managing director of Health Insurance, Emily Amos, said the new service is designed to enhance the limited privately funded palliative care service options available to those nearing the end of their lives.
“By offering a flexible model of palliative care, customers have the option of spending their final days surrounded by family and the familiar comforts of their home while receiving palliative care services from a range of specialist healthcare professionals.
“Our aging population means that in the next 25 years or so, the number of Australians who die each year is predicted to double, so playing our part in enhancing the available end-of-life care options is imperative,” said Ms Amos.
The BPCCP first launched in Brisbane in 2016 and has since expanded to Adelaide and Sydney.
Bupa said outcomes from the first four years of the program show the service has enabled more than 90 per cent of patients to die in their place of choice (at hospital or at home). It said more than 90 per cent of patients and carers surveyed also reported they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with their experience of the program.
“Feedback and outcomes from the Bupa Palliative Care Choices Program roll out so far have been extremely positive and we are pleased we can now support customers and their families across Melbourne with personalised and compassionate palliative care at home.
“We have also further enhanced the BPCCP by incorporating Bupa’s partnership with Violet (formerly LifeCircle). Violet will train HSS palliative care staff and will also provide additional direct support to Bupa families and carers from a trained guide who has experience with end-oflife care.
“We want to give our customers as much choice as possible in where and how they want to be cared for, which is why we continue to offer alternative models and settings of care, and invest in a range of other out-of-hospital treatment programs such as chemotherapy at home and rehabilitation at home,” added Ms Amos.