Annual Report
2024/2025
It gives me great pleasure to bring my report to you for this year. We currently have 56 members in Great Lakes Palliative Care Support, although some not as active as they once were, we are grateful for their ongoing support. We, like all voluntary organisations are facing challenging times as our volunteers become older and ill health has an impact on their ability to contribute. Some of our long- time members have had to move out of the area due to changes in their health status and needing to move closer to family. We thank them for their faithful service. Kay Chapman served as membership officer and Vice President and she now plans to move to Sydney on her return from holidays. We are excited however to welcome the new members who have joined us this year to continue this important work that began way back in 1989. From humble beginnings, our service has grown significantly and there is still a huge need for care and support for those who are experiencing the Palliative Care journey.
We remain extremely busy, with fundraising events, community education and spreading the word that palliative care is much more than just about dying, it’s about living well until we die. We have had the opportunity to support our wonderful Community Palliative Care team as well Jane Bone, Social Worker, the Oncology and Nursing staff of Forster Private Hospital. We have been able to enhance the services that are offered at one of the most challenging times for the patients, families and carers of this area, as well as those of outlying areas such as Gloucester, Hawks Nest and Bulahdelah.
Our service provision does mean patients can stay at home longer or until their death if that is their wish. We are often filling the gaps until other services can be arranged although due to availability and waiting times for Aged care packages in our local area, sometimes death occurs before a package can be put in place. This year, we have had the opportunity of supporting many younger patients, who without our support would have been faced, with insurmountable challenges and an excessive burden of care. This past year we have spent over $30,000 on domestic and personal care services. This has been attended by providers Kirinari and White Glove cleaning service.
Our equipment service remains in constant use with the storage premises in Rodmay St Tuncurry being accessed by the nurses, occupational therapists as well as Kevin our Equipment Officer. The loan of equipment means that patients can be cared for safely in their place of residence. We provide a pickup and delivery service and loan equipment at no cost to the patient. Equipment is also provided to allow patients to be discharged from hospital. All equipment is maintained, serviced and cleaned by Kevin. For Ian and Harold, thank you for covering for us when we are away. As most of you are aware Kevin received the NSW Palliative Care Volunteer of the Year Award, and has been entered into the Australia wide awards. My sincere thanks to Kevin for all that you do and the support you provide to those who we care for. We continue to provide specialised equipment such as hospital beds on a needs basis which we hire as required. We recently purchased 10 new pressure relieving cushions at a cost of $2000 for use by the patients at home.
We are very grateful for the monthly donation of $1700 which we receive from Cape Hawke Health which has covered the cost of leasing our equipment storage premises for many years now.
Due to the generosity of our community we are often gifted with equipment that is no longer needed, sometimes more than we can use, so we rotate and upgrade our equipment stock as we are able. Due to this excess we have been able to send more pallets of medical equipment, continence aids, linen, curtains and blankets overseas through the assistance of Bob Nelson and the Taree Rotary Club. It is transported to Brisbane and then shipped to overseas countries like Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu. We also gift equipment to folk in need. We provided a car full of continence aids for recent flood victims in Taree.
We continue to provide Social Worker assistance to those who cannot get services through usual channels. This has been so beneficial with helping patients and families negotiate the trauma of changed financial circumstances, changes in employment, housing while facing the trauma associated with a life limiting illness and need to apply for benefits or who are struggling to make ends meet. We remain grateful to Jane Bone for the wonderful work she does to help our patients and their families. Due to the increased cost of living it has been apparent that Jane has more requests for assistance with costs of living, rent and utilities as well as the need for food and petrol. To this end we continue to provide Jane with vouchers that can be used to buy groceries and petrol and can be given for immediate use when it’s needed. We have also provided vouchers for use by the nurses when they see a patient or family in need. This year we have nearly doubled the number of vouchers used compared to last year.
We have provided financial assistance to pay the costs of car insurance, car registration and green slips, utility bills, land and water rates, and assisted with preschool and school fees. We have assisted pay for medical tests not covered by Medicare, which has relieved the burden for the patient and carer, who would have been unable to go ahead due to the prohibitive gap fee. These requests are taken on the clinician’s advice, on an individual case by case basis and we do our best to use the money wisely. This is a significant part of what we do. We are usually the last resort when all else has failed.
Our requests have increased since Can Assist in Taree are only able to provide food vouchers now due to their fundraising difficulties. Many of the requests for assistance made to Can Assist come from people living in our local area. Due to the recent flood event and the personal impact on some of the members of Can Assist, and the difficulty that they face to try to organise fundraising during this time of flood recovery we have donated $3000 for their discretionary use.
We have covered the costs of nutritional supplements, medications and general Pharmacy needs for those struggling financially.
Jane Bone is also instrumental with the Oncology staff in issuing vouchers for massages for patients or carers struggling with fatigue, stress and just needing something special done for them. We provide the vouchers, and our Massage Therapist Cathy Brown, is able to visit at the patient’s own home or in hospital if required. Cathy also provides specialised lymphatic drainage massage for patients suffering from lymphedema, which is often very helpful to relieve pain experienced with advanced disease.
Liz Doorey and Deb Debnam continue the wig service, and provide support and enhance the quality of the lives of those who they help. Wigs are supplied at no cost to the patient.
Palliative Care Week was celebrated in May with Our Remembrance Service in the Community of Christ Church with highlight being the candle lighting and beautiful singing of the Green Cathedral Choir. It was a memorable event although numbers were down on past years. We finished the week off with our renowned annual Trivia night, which was very successful with a full house. My thanks especially to Roger Duggan our compere extraordinaire, the organising team and the Bridge Club for allowing us the use of their venue.
Dying to Know Day will be held again in August at the Sporties.
Throughout the year our hardworking members of our Fundraising Auxiliary under the leadership of Helen Cramp have worked tirelessly to keep our community profile high and to raise the funds we need to keep our service functioning, with raffles, Bunnings sausage sizzles, barefoot bowls evening, our Trivia night, garage sales, luncheons, morning teas, and Christmas present wrapping at Stocklands. We have been blessed by the Hallidays Point Lions club who offered us fundraising opportunities by helping at their op shop. Our members work there on Wednesday and Thursdays each week and we have received $5000 from the op shop and this will continue on a regular basis. To Sharon and Ian who Coordinate the Bunnings BBQ’s thank you for all that you do. Thank you to all our members and friends for all your hard work, we couldn’t do it without you.. We also appreciate the support we are given by Tuncurry Beach Bowling Club, not only allowing us to use their facilities but supporting us generously with raffle prizes.
We have been blessed by much community support and been the beneficiary of donations from sporting groups, service clubs, individuals, bereaved families and long-time supporters. We remained indebted to the Nixon family and all their supporters who have contributed to our work through the legacy of the Matt Nixon Memorial Golf Day. The Matt Nixon Memorial Golf Day was postponed due to inclement weather a few months ago but is planned to go ahead hopefully in November of this year.
I need to advise that the Quiet Room at FPH that we furnished and was officially opened by then local member Stephen Bromhead in May 2019 has been moved to make way for the new CEO’s office. The smaller Quiet room is now located next to Room 14. It will also be used as Jane Bone’s office.
My sincere thanks to the members of the Management Committee who deal with the nitty gritty, day to day running of our service. I appreciate all of your support.
To all the members of Great Lakes Palliative Care Support regardless of what you do now, have done in the past or what you will do in the future, thank you for showing what a caring community can achieve.
I move that my report be accepted.
Deidre Stokes
President
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