CEQ’s Care at End of Life Project continues to move from strength to strength having recently been nominated for a string of awards. This week the team attended the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Brisbane where they were nominated for their public awareness campaign Start your conversation in the Be a responsive government category.
It was Australia’s first government-led campaign aiming to increase community and clinician awareness of end-of-life issues. Haley McNamara, A/Project Manager, Care at End of Life Project said a range of communication strategies were used to raise awareness and normalise the public discussion about death and dying. ‘We want to motivate Queenslanders to plan their end-of-life care. To have those really important discussions and let their family and loved ones know what their choices are.’
Whilst the team didn’t take the trophy home this week, Haley said the campaign achieved outstanding outcomes. ‘The communication so far has reached more than one million consumers, 84,000 staff, 3,371 GPs and 1,027 residential aged care facilities. Importantly though, evaluation found 83 per cent of the campaign audience reported taking action in relation to end-of-life care planning.’
PICTURED ABOVE: Some of the Care at End of Life Project team members: Hannah McGhee, Haley McNamara, Chloe Prudden, Irene Rossow
The Care at End of Life Project Team has also been nominated for two other awards, with winners to be announced early next month. The project is a finalist in three categories for the Palliative Care in Queensland Annual Awards for both individual and team efforts:
- Care Alert Kits – Innovations in Palliative Care category
- Haley McNamara – Emerging Leader category
- Wendy Pearse – Emerging researcher.
Haley said recognition for both individual and project-wide efforts were a reflection on the dedication of the team. ‘It’s not an easy project or topic to be “selling” so to speak, or to think about day in and day out, but we have a great team of highly motivated individuals and these recent award nominations are a well-deserved pat on the back,’ she said.
The Care at End of Life Project Team has also had a poster abstract accepted by the Palliative Care in Queensland Annual Summit, to be held on December 2.
The broader Care at End of Life Project aimed to integrate end-of-life care as a core element of healthcare. For more information visit the website.
