Tasmania had the highest population rate of palliative care-related hospitalisations in 2016-17, a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Palliative Care Services in Australia report found that palliative care-related hospitalisations have been rising at a faster rate than other hospitalisations, increasing by 25 per cent between 2012-13 and 2016-17.
In Tasmania, 42.2 palliative care-related hospitalisations per 10,000 population were reported for public hospitals in 2016-17, the highest rate in Australia.
In other news:
Tasmania also reported the second highest rate of Medicare Benefits Schedule-subsidised palliative care patients at 78.9 per 100,000 population, after the ACT at 79.7 per 100,000.
AIHW spokesman Matthew James said a rise in chronic illness paired with an ageing population had led to an increased need for palliative care.
"Over half of all palliative care-related hospitalisations ended with the patient's death [52 per cent], compared with less than one in 100 for all hospitalisations," he said.
"Today's report shows us that more people being admitted to hospital are requiring palliative care services, but we don't know how many of these people would prefer to have received palliative care elsewhere."
Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
