Nurse practitioners playing a leading role in healthcare

Since the inception of the Nurse Practitioner role in Queensland in the early 2000s this profession is leading the development of highly specialised and necessary healthcare delivery across the community.

Metro North Health Specialist Palliative Care in Aged Care (SPACE) Nurse Practitioner Nicole Hutchinson is one of these professionals shaping the future of palliative care in the community and in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs).

“It is important that we empower people to make end-of-life decisions,” Nicole said.

“People don’t like to talk about dying but it is important to talk about the life you live before you die.

“It is necessary that we talk about end-of-life planning in a sensitive way … talking about disease, the things to do to make a patient comfortable and how their final goals of care are met.”

Nicole, who has been a Nurse Practitioner for around five years, is currently playing a lead role in the SPACE service which is actively improving access and coordination of specialist end-of-life palliative care for those living in RACFs.

“We are providing specialised support and advice to around 83 RACFs in the Metro North Health region,” she said.

“Through SPACE we are better placed to allow aged care residents to have their last moments in their place of choosing, which is their home.

“We are inclusive of the whole family in the care that is provided. It is important to recognise and respond to the patient’s needs, and to communicate this to their family or the people important to them.”

The SPACE service began in March 2021 and supports thousands of residents, family members, RACF staff and general practitioners (GPs) each year.

“People on an end-of-life pathway should not have to leave their homes to get the care that they need,” Nicole said.

“Our specialist palliative care clinicians are visiting RACFs to guide discussions about end-of-life care with the aim of strengthening the capability and capacity of staff.

“This provides an opportunity for case-based education for nursing and care staff on symptom management, advance care planning, end-of-life law and communication.”

Nicole, previously worked as a Nurse Practitioner in a specialist palliative care service in a busy large private hospital, providing inpatient consultation, as well as to patients on the palliative care unit.

She was a clinical nurse consultant delivering care to motor neurone disease (MND) patients for many years.

“When I worked in the MND area I could see the gap in palliative care services for non-cancer diseases,” Nicole said.

“I felt like I had advanced skills as a clinical nurse consultant – but I wanted to do more. I had the capability and wanted to take the next step as a Nurse Practitioner.

“There was growing chronic disease such as respiratory, cardiac, neurological, liver and kidney disease, as well as dementia, and a need for people in aged care.”

The SPACE service is being delivered by Metro North Health’s Community and Oral Health (COH) directorate under the Better Quality of Care –

Comprehensive Palliative Care in Aged Care Measure to support older persons living in RACFs.

Nicole is the current Co-Chair of the Queensland Palliative Care Clinical Network and one of a handful of Nurse Practitioners working in various specialties within COH.

Nurse Practitioners Week 2023 is an inspiring celebration of the invaluable role nurse practitioners play in the healthcare landscape.