In this month’s Better health, together video, WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington chats to City of Albany Mayor, Dennis Wellington about our partnership in delivering the Compassionate Communities project.
The project, which targets communities in the Great Southern, is a whole of community approach to increasing awareness of end of life, and empowering people to live and die well, at home where possible.
Part 1 – What does it mean to you to be involved in the Compassionate Communities project?
Part 2 – How do you see Compassionate Communities growing and developing in the community?
Part 3 – Why are community networks so important?
Watch the full video
Compassionate Communities is the approach we have adopted in delivering the Greater Choice for At Home Palliative Care initiative.
Compassionate Communities recognise that caring for one another during a health crisis or personal loss is not solely a task for health and social services, but it is everyone’s responsibility. It is an individual’s network, both formal and informal, that is essential to supporting quality end of life care at home and are most likely to exist when the carer or dying person is part of a community.
Local governments are often considered to be ‘closest to the people’ not only because of the range of services they provide for the community but also the effect of those services on community health and wellbeing. Some of the great practical examples as a result of our collaboration with the City of Albany include:
- The inclusion of Compassionate Communities principles in the 2018-2022 Public Health Plan
- The recognition and inclusion of End of Life as a priority area in the Age Friendly Charter
- An interactive art project delivered through the Vancouver Arts Centre to stimulate conversation within community about supporting one another to live well at the end of life
- In Memory of Ordinary Things – an exhibition that includes, a memory wall, storytelling and short film
- The commencement of the Community Connector position within the City of Albany and working with the Shires of Plantagenet and Denmark to implement network care models in those communities
To find out what’s happening, visit the Compassionate Communities project page on Primary Health Exchange.