What we all know about living in the Townsville region is that at some point, nature will unleash its fury on the region in the form of fire, flood, cyclones, or, most recently, a pandemic.
There is no doubt that such events significantly impact us when our lives are relatively normal, but what happens when the disaster occurs when you are caring for a loved one (or are yourself) experiencing serious illness, dying, death and grief?
In March 2022, Palliative Care Queensland, through the Connecting End of Life Care in Townsville (CELC-T) project and in partnership with Health Consumers Queensland, hosted two Kitchen Table Discussions with community members from across the Townsville Region. Their purpose was to understand the current support in place, community needs and opportunities for the health, social and community systems to ensure people experiencing a serious illness, dying, death or grief during a disaster are supported.
Following the consultations, we partnered with the Townsville Area Palliative Care Plan Working Group, which incorporates leaders from the region’s seven local governments to develop a community fact sheet, “Disaster Support for those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and grief”.
Available at: CELC-T Community Fact Sheet_Disaster Support (palliativecareqld.org.au), the factsheet is an essential resource for community members, community groups, health professionals and service providers seeking a resource to support those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and grief during a disaster or pandemic.
This project is funded by the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN).
