Digital advance care planning helps to ease the ambulance ramping crisis
Ambulance ramping cases have been described as the “canaries in the healthcare coalmine”, with escalating pressures on hospitals exposed by delays in the transfer of patients into emergency departments. In some instances, ambulances are “ramped” for hours outside hospitals, waiting for available beds, and the crisis is expected to continue as Australia’s population ages and […]
Opening statement to the Senate Inquiry into the Aged Care Bill 2024
Touchstone founder CEO Dr Merran Cooper became emotional when she appeared at the Senate Inquiry into the new Aged Care Bill and spoke about some of the difficult moments she faced as a hospital physician when advance care plans were unavailable.
Touchstone calls for mandatory advance care planning in new Aged Care Act: Submission
Touchstone Life Care has called for the Commonwealth Government’s new Aged Care Act to mandate the use of digital advance care planning in its latest submission.
Managed dying. The new palliative care?
Managed dying should be about shared decision making but it rarely is. It’s usually a doctor telling patients what the most conservative option is and why they should choose it.
Advance Care Plans: The Basics
When it comes to the subject of Advance Care Planning, for many it is a case of ‘There’s always time to do it later”, until it is too late. It often takes a life limiting – or threatening – illness/condition for people to really start planning for the end of their life. Ideally though, the […]
Touchstone Life Care: Our Beliefs regarding an End of Life Plan.
Considering an End of Life Plan? Touchstone Life Care is an organisation built on a passionate belief that everyone – young or old, healthy or sick – deserves the opportunity to create an Advance Care Plan that will provide you the dignity you deserve when you need it most. We believe in: Connecting. […]
Choosing the right Residential Aged Care Facility.
Choosing an Aged Care Facility is an important consideration when it comes to your end of life planning. If – due to illness or injury – you need to be moved to a care facility, it will reduce overall stress on your loved ones if you have planned for this outcome. So how do you […]
3 Avoidable Reasons People Don’t Get the End of Life They Want
People often bounce in and out of hospital in the final years of their life – up to 8 times in their last year of life alone. But why is this the case, and surely it’s not necessary? The truth is, people often don’t have the ongoing care that they would like or need in […]
Why doctors need your Advance Care Plan
Hospitals and verbal communication Hospitals are a place where verbal communication goes to die. This is unfortunately a common truth – our modern health care system is incredible and helps many people every day, but it is also a place where people’s wishes can be missed in and people can become caught in the system. […]
Living Life Without Limits or Regrets
Particularly towards the end of life, it’s important for people to have control over how they live their life. Most people want “a good death”. Perhaps a good death is really ‘a death of one’s own.” Everyone will do it differently. Everyone will have different wants and needs. For those people who have “a good […]
