Our Model Of Care

Little Haven’s nurses are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week giving professional palliative nursing care and advice to manage patients symptoms and provide support and guidance to carers. Our care is provided in the home, or patients and families may visit our centre at 14 Henry Street for support or therapies.

The Little Haven model of community based palliative care values

early intervention of palliative care to support patients from their point of diagnosis
supporting patients through active treatments eg. Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy
respecting patients choice / advance care wishes – Care provided in the right place at the right time
shaping compassion by community engagement in care of the dying

Our team includes Specialist Palliative Care Nurses, Social Workers, Respite Care Volunteers and Complementary Therapists working with your treating Doctor to provide a holistic approach to patient care. Addressing all of the patient’s and carers physical, social, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs.

The Greek Physician Hippocrates, said “It is more important to know the person who has the disease than it is to know the disease that the person has”. That sums up our approach to palliative care ~ every patient will have different needs and care will be individually tailored to those needs.

Little Haven values equitable access for all through provision of all services on a no fee basis

What we do:

Receive a referral and make contact with the patient/carer within 48 hours, then plan regular nursing visits to manage symptoms according to need.
Alternatively families may contact Little Haven directly and we will contact the GP to receive medical history etc.
Work closely with the patient’s GP +/- Palliative Care Physician to help maximize quality of life by minimizing symptoms
Commence discussions and paperwork regarding advance health planning and end of life care wishes. Including EPOA and Will documentation.
Arrange referrals to My Aged Care (MAC) for RAS and or ACAT, including for under 65 as needed. Little Haven values a “shared care” model working in with community nursing / package care providers to maximise supports available
Provide equipment to minimise distress and energy use of patients and improve safety when required and at no cost.
Provide home visits to monitor patient symptoms and carer coping, increasing visits to meet needs as deterioration is occurring
Provide complementary therapies to assist symptom control, reduce stress and help with emotional distress for both patient and carer.
Provide a respite volunteer to support the patient and carer at home.
Attend to complex care needs including managing rocket drains, catheter care, CSCI’s, wound care
Provide out of hours personal contact (24/7 support) with a Little Haven RN for any problems right from the beginning of the admission. After hours visit for symptom management provided as needed
Assist with full hygiene care and support on a daily basis when the patient is advancing towards the dying phase. Routine hygiene assistance required earlier in the disease trajectory should be arranged though a generalist package provider. Little Haven will provide education as needed to assist care provider to maximise comfort during cares.
Provide Social Work support to assist with Advance Care Plans / My Aged Care Assessments/ Sourcing aged care services / Carers support / Centrelink / Loss and Grief Counselling
Arrange Referrals to Allied Health Services as needed
Assist patients to remain at home to die through education of carers and increasing nursing visits for symptom management at end of life
Attend the home for end of life cares and certification of death – arrange transfer to funeral home
Alternatively, if the patient wishes to die in hospital, needs very complex symptom control, the carer can’t manage or there is no carer, our team work closely with the local hospital for as seamless an admission as possible when the time comes. Advocacy and support will continue for our patient whilst they are an inpatient.
Continue bereavement support to the carer through our bereavement support service

On average we support 65% of our patients to remain at home to die (if this is their wish), awith over 90% of patients fulfilling their end of life care wishes. Little Haven will do all we can to assist people in hospital to get home for their remaining days. Urgently getting a bed and other equipment in place to be able to be supported in their chosen environment.

Whilst enabling families in our area to have their end of life choices met, this also demonstrates an enormous benefit to the Hospital and Health Service in freeing up acute care beds.