Background: Palliative Care Needs Rounds (PCNR) were developed in Australia in 2015 and have been rigorously tested in Australia and the United Kingdom. PCNR identifies people in residential aged care facilities (RACF) who have specialist palliative care needs and are at risk of dying without a plan in place. Evidence shows that PCNR enhances the palliative care skills and knowledge of RACF staff, and that anticipatory planning resulting from PCNR improves quality of death and dying and ensures residents die in their preferred place of death.

In 2019, PCNR were implemented in 28 RACF in an Australian city. Five years on and as we navigate a global pandemic, it is timely to assess and evaluate whether PCNR continue to be a sustainable model of collaborative palliative care into the future. 

Aim: To assess the practicality and sustainability of the PCNR model in residential aged care facilities.

Methods:  A qualitative evaluation of PCNR through analysis of questionnaire data completed by specialist palliative care clinicians at each PCNR meeting across a six-month period. 

Results: The sustainability of PCNR is highly dependent on stakeholder engagement, and RACF staffing profile and numbers. Because there is continuous staff turnover, ongoing education on the value of the model is required to improve outcomes for the RACF and their residents. We present key findings including barriers and facilitators and outline the challenges in sustaining PCNR as a model of specialist palliative care in RACF.

Conclusion: PCNR is an evidence-based model for increasing access to specialist palliative care for residential aged care residents and for improving the quality of death in RACF. This five-year post-implementation review of PCNR provides updated information on their sustainability, lessons learnt, and suggestions for other services world-wide considering establishing this model of care in the future in their local context.