Following the account of a "traumatic" death at the Launceston General Hospital, hospice advocates have again called for a Northern service to be established in Tasmania.
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On February 15, less than two weeks before his 102nd birthday, Launceston man Rex "Harry" Reeve died on a medical ward at the LGH.
Mr Reeve's widow, Bev Reeve said her husband's death was undignified and traumatic in what should have been a peaceful and compassionate time in her husband's life.
Victorian hospice Anam Cara House founder Diane Wright said with an ageing population a service in the North was needed.
"I'd say not only is it needed, but I'd also say it's imperative and certainly the [federal] government is identifying this in the Royal Commission into Aged Care," she said.
"They stress the importance of healthcare being in the place of people's choice and delivered on an individual basis that acknowledges people have control of their own care."
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the government had identified the opportunity to strengthen palliative care in Northern Tasmania through the co-located private hospital, the LGH re-development.
He said the government would undertake clinical service planning through the department's future healthcare plan.
Mr Rockliff said the plan would include an examination of the future demand for hospice and palliative care services in Northern Tasmania.
"Once this clinical service planning work is complete, the infrastructure options can be identified through updates to the LGH masterplan," he said.
Ms Wright said the value of a hospice facility was often overlooked or better understood by people who had experienced the service.
"A lot of people don't understand hospice care, not because they're not caring people, but because they haven't experienced it - it's not familiar in Australia," she said.
"We tend to have hospitals or palliative care units, but hospice is quite a unique form of care."
Ms Wright said the care was fundamentally different to services provided to patients in an acute hospital setting, with symptom control, pain management, comfort and communication playing an important role.
"It's a holistic approach, It's not time-driven," she said. "Whereas a hospital may be quite busy, hospice care is not time driven. It has a home-like feel about it and it aims to give people control of their own care and also supports their carers.
She said the focus was not just on caring for people with a chronic or terminal illness, but also on supporting the family and friends on their journey, so the final memories of their loved ones were positive.
Advocacy group, the Friends of Northern Hospice has been pushing for a purpose-built facility in the North since the closure of Philip Oakden House in 2007.
Group spokesperson Barb Baker said with an ageing population and more people relocating from the mainland to retire, demand for palliative and hospice care would only increase.
She said the omission of a hospice from Northern health services meant staff at the LGH were being placed under added pressure and required to make difficult decisions when it came to allocating resources.
"The majority of staff in the hospital care and provide good care and support for the patients and their families, but that doesn't always happen sadly," she said.
"They're also under the pump, and if you have a dying person admitted to the emergency department, then hot on the heels of their admission you might have a young person who's had a heart attack.
"Who do you give your care to, is it the person who's dying and their family, or is it the person who might have another 30 or 40 years to live?
"It's a decision that staff shouldn't have to make."
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