Background: The Nightingale Program is an innovative nurse-led palliative model of care.  Working in partnership with stakeholders the program successfully provides person-centered care for people living with advanced dementia through to end of life. Many people do not view dementia as life limiting and people living with dementia are underserved in accessing palliative care services. Traditionally, there is a lack of skilled professionals with expertise relating to both fields of care. For families there can be high levels of stress facing challenging ethical decisions in relation to end of life care whilst symptoms of dementia can be protracted and complex and need specialist assessment and advice.

Goal of work: Majority of people wish to die at home, which we saw increase again in the pandemic, but a recent AIHW report has shown that only 2.5% of people living with dementia achieve this. Between June 2019 and December 2022, 22% of clients who died in the program died at home. This highlights the need for and value in dementia specific services which can work with traditional palliative care services.

Presentation focus: This presentation will outline our model of care and highlight how to support people living with dementia to understand the trajectory and symptoms and to support choices for future directions through the narrative of consumer case studies. These outcomes will emphasize the value of providing strategies that enable people in the community and residential care to die according to their wishes. By demystifying the signs that indicate a person living with dementia is entering the end of life stage we hope to provide tools for any practitioner to provide supportive dementia palliative care with dignity and choice at the end of life. 

Social Media Summary: Majority of people wish to die at home, but a recent AIHW report has shown that only 2.5% of people living with dementia achieve this. South Australia’s Nightingale Program is a nurse-led palliative model of care.  Working in partnership with stakeholders the program successfully provides person-centered care for people living with advanced dementia through to end of life in South Australia and has seen 22% of clients die at home. This highlights the need for and value of dementia specific services which can work with traditional palliative care services.