Palliative Care in Prisons

Australian Correctional/Justice Health Services increasingly need to provide palliative and end-of-life care to people in prisons. Older people now account for nearly half of the prison population. They are more likely to suffer from complex comorbidities associated with their lifestyle risk behaviours. Any discussion about palliative care in prisons must include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and perspectives, respecting the right to culturally safe care. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have long been over-represented in Australian prisons. They are also disproportionately represented in deaths in custody.

The findings from the Co-Design workshop (712kb pdf) held in Sydney in 2023 highlighted three main directions and 13 National Palliative Care Capacity-building recommendations which were endorsed at a second co-design workshop (753kb pdf) in Brisbane in 2024. The agreed directions were:

• Multi-mode interactive education that champions palliative care excellence
• Strengthening links with local specialist palliative care teams
• Foster national correctional services and justice health collaborations.

The workshop and project activities have identified a range of resources and materials that can support awareness and build capacity in the sector.

Resources

Project Newsletters

• Issue 15 – February 2025 (9MB pdf)
• Issue 14 – December 2024 (7.7MB pdf)
• Issue 13 – October 2024 (6.7MB pdf)
• Issue 12 – June 2024 (3MB pdf)
• Issue 11 – March 2024 (4MB pdf)
• Issue 10 – November 2023 (2.5MB pdf)
• Issue 9 – May 2023 (2.5MB pdf)
• Issue 8 – December 2022 (4.4MB pdf)
• Issue 7 – August 2022 (1.8MB pdf)
• Issue 6 – April 2022 (3.9MB pdf)
• Issue 5 – September 2021 (3.2MB pdf)
• Issue 4 – June 2021 (11MB pdf)
• Issue 3 – March 2021 (6MB pdf
• Issue 2 – October 2020 (4.2MB pdf)
• Issue 1 – May 2020 (3.1 Mb PDF)

Community of Practice Team Recordings

[To come from Jen]

Palliative Care Resources

The following palliative care resources have been identified as valuable for supporting care.

• SPICT 4-ALL
  People who are living with life shortening conditions often miss out on well planned care and support because they are not offered the right help soon enough. SPICT 4-ALL helps to identify changes and communicate needs. Staff caring for people in prison with life shortening conditions have developed a special version – SPICT-4ALL in Prisons.
• NAT:PD (99kb pdf)
  The Needs Assessment Tool: Progressive Disease (NAT: PD) can assist in matching the types and levels of need experienced by people with progressive chronic diseases (eg cancer, heart failure, COPD). In generalist settings it can be used to determine which needs may be met in that setting and which needs are be more complex and may be better managed by specialists.
• National Framework [Being finalised – Jen to follow up]
• Advance Care Planning
  Advance care planning is the process of planning for a person’s current and future health care. It involves talking about values, beliefs and preferences with your decision makers and doctors. This helps them to respect your choices about your care when you can’t. Staff members can access free online learning  in advance care planning through Advance Care Planning Australia.

Education Resources

Education is an important way to build workforce capability. The following palliative care education options are particularly relevant.

• PEPA
  PEPA provides opportunities for all health professionals to develop capabilities in providing a palliative approach to care through participation in placements, workshops and a range of learning resource.
• IPEPA
  IPEPA is a grassroots approach to breaking down the barriers to palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.
• Pallibytes
  PalliBytes Microlearning provides short, practical learning for palliative care.

Research and Evidence

There is an emerging body of evidence that supports palliative care in prisons.

• Review collection – Prisoners
  This is a collection of systematic reviews providing evidence on various considerations relating to palliative care and prisoners.
• Quick Search – Prisoners
  You can run a tailored PubMed search for studies looking at palliative care and prisoners. Select the Specific Needs option and then click on prisoners in the drop down list.