The Melwood Palliative Care Unit at St Luke’s Hospital is a fifteen bed specialist palliative care facility, which includes four government funded beds.

Melwood’s role in collaboration with Palliative Care North is to provide specialist inpatient palliative care services for Northern Tasmania.  

This combined model of care provides flexibility to ensure patients receive the highest standards of care without undue delay within the capacity of the service. 

Calvary’s core values of hospitality, healing, stewardship and respect for human life underpin the care we provide to all people as they approach the end of their life.

We help to ensure that people have choices approaching the end of their life and can access the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

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Calvary believes that dying is an experience unique to each person, family and carer, and encompasses physical, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural aspects.

Our focus of care is on achieving dignity, comfort and maximizing quality of life for the patient, family and loved ones.  

Spiritual care is an essential component of holistic care provided to our patients and families, regardless of their spiritual or religious beliefs.   

Bereavement support is an essential component of care and is available and provided by the pastoral care team and social worker. 

Our team consists of a Palliative Care Medical Specialist; a Medical Registrar – Monday to Friday during business hours; general practitioners and physicians; specialist palliative care nurses; on site pharmacists; physiotherapist; pastoral carers; social worker and trained volunteers.

Every room has been designed to provide comfort for patients, families and carers.

This includes large ensuites, tea and coffee making facilities, fridges, soft furnishings, recliners, flat screen TVs and music.

There is also a designated younger person room established with the assistance of community support and donations, which is furnished to provide a relaxed and appropriate environment, catering for the needs of young people undergoing palliative care and their families.

The unit has an open door policy with no allocated visiting times, family and friends are encouraged to spend as much time with the patient  and patients are encouraged to go out for day and overnight leave.

Our wonderful trained volunteers are a much-valued resource.  

They provide support to patients and families via reading, companionship, hand and foot massages, assisting patients to visit the garden, accompanying them to appointments or outings, assisting with patient’s laundry needs or just sitting with a patient who is dying alone.