Workforce Capabilities within the Palliative Care professions
Nationally there is not a consensus on capabilities for the palliative care workforce.  With minimal inclusion of palliative care education in the Vocational and Tertiary curriculum the identification of key capabilities is vital to the improvement of care in the Aged Care sector. To this end, the End of Life Directions in Aged Care (ELDAC) workforce capability team are currently working on this deficit as a priority area.

New workforce capabilities are currently being identified through a modified DELPHI research study.  The capabilities will be informed through consumers of palliative care services and palliative care clinical experts.  These capabilities will be underpinned by the Palliative Care Standards and will include resources specific to meet the new Aged Care Quality Standards (due for release in 2023).  A consensus-based, multi-professional, capability framework for the provision of palliative care across settings is needed to assist aged care providers to develop the workforce capability in delivering best practice within palliative care.  Such a framework will guide entry-to-practice education in the vocational education and training sector, higher education settings, and within workplace designed education to ensure that the future and current workforce are adequately prepared to provide palliative care irrespective of place of practice.

This presentation will cover the research outcomes through the Delphi study, consumer feedback and how this has led to the development of workforce capabilities and indicators. The presentation will discuss next steps and how this can inform different roles in the Palliative Care sector.