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The communities of Goulburn, Yass Valley and the Upper Lachlan area will benefit from a $20,000 Snow Foundation grant, via Palliative Care NSW, which will support a pilot Palliative Care Volunteer Support Service for the region.

Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) will use the funding to employ a Volunteer Coordinator, who will play an integral role in ensuring people accessing palliative care receive consistent, quality care.

SNSWLHD Palliative Care Volunteer Services Project Officer Fiona Sivyer said the Volunteer Coordinator will be an important link between patients receiving end-of-life care, their family and carers and the clinicians and volunteers providing the specialised support.

“We train volunteers in end-of-life care so they can offer compassion, companionship and respite, which helps to reduce distress, improve peoples’ quality of life and bereavement experiences,” Ms Sivyer said.

“The Volunteer Coordinator manages these wonderful volunteers in the regions they support, and will assist in recruitment of volunteers, coordination of meetings, training, education and further professional development opportunities.”

The Palliative Care Volunteer Service was established in 2020 in partnership with Palliative Care NSW and COORDINARE. Starting in the Snowy Monaro region, services have since opened in Eurobodalla, Queanbeyan and Bega Valley regions and have since attracted permanent NSW Health funding.

Ms Sivyer said SNSWLHD is currently looking to employ a part-time Volunteer Coordinator to support palliative care volunteering in the Goulburn region community. People with experience in volunteer management or community service delivery are encouraged to apply.

It is a priority for the NSW Government that NSW residents have access to the highest quality care at the end of their life. The 2022/23 state budget provides a $743 million funding boost over the next five years for palliative care and specialist health services across NSW. Planning is underway, and all local health districts will benefit from this funding.

To find out more about the program or the role, please contact Jacqueline Clancy on 02 6150 7576 or [email protected]

Photo: Fiona Sivyer