National palliative care measures

This measure is about ensuring that people with life-limiting illnesses receive palliative care in a timely manner. An unstable phase is where an urgent change is required in the care approach. Patient and/or family choices may delay the time it takes to stabilise a person in this phase.

Note, due to data availability only inpatient settings are captured.    

The desired outcome is that more unstable palliative care phases last 3 days or less, meaning the measure will increase.

Objective area: Continuous    Outcome area: Timely care

Trends

In 2018, 76.1% of inpatient unstable palliative care phases lasted 3 days or less. This increased to 80.7% in 2021 (Figure 4.2.3).

Figure 4.2.3: Proportion of inpatient unstable palliative care phases that lasted 3 days or less, 2018-2021.

Characteristics

Figure 4.2.4 shows that the proportion of inpatient unstable palliative care phases that lasted 3 days or less in 2021 varied by these characteristics:

• The highest proportion was for people from South Australia, for whom 96.0% of inpatient unstable palliative care phases lasted 3 days or less.
• The proportion was lowest in Inner regional areas (75.4%) and highest in Major cities (82.8%).
• Females had a slightly lower proportion (79.8%) than males (81.4%).
• People under the age of 25 had a lower proportion (57.3%) than those aged 25 and over (80.8%).
• The proportion was highest among people who lived in the least disadvantaged areas (83.4%), and lowest among people in the most disadvantaged areas (77.2%).
• The proportion was higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people (82.8%) than for non-Indigenous Australians (80.7%).

Figure 4.2.4: Proportion of inpatient unstable palliative care phases that lasted 3 days or less, by selected characteristics, 2021