Update on the Children's and Young People's Bereavement Service and

St Vincent's Palliative Care Services.

 St Vincent's Brisbane is a Catholic not-for-profit private hospital which is part of the wider St Vincent's and Holy Spirit Health Group. In June 2010 a $40 million physical redevelopment and an upgrade of clinical services licensing to an acute status were completed. Existing services have been strengthened and new programs introduced - synergized services enhancing our dedication to improving patients' treatments, comfort and care. We are complementing our traditional strengths with a broader base of programs which will see St Vincent's Brisbane become the medical hospital of choice for comprehensive care of chronic diseases and medicine.

 The Tarmons Centre

When we at St Vincent's wanted to find a name for our new palliative care service we looked to our heritage. Literally Tarmons means sanctuary and is the name of the nineteenth century home of the Sisters of Charity which still stands today at Potts Point in Sydney. The Tarmons Centre does not just represent a new unit, rather it is the collective name for the progressive expansion of in-patient, out-patient and home care services that we provide.

 The Tarmons Centre provides an integrated Specialist Palliative Care Service designated to support anyone diagnosed with a life limiting illness. Our expertise may be needed at diagnosis, during treatment or at the end of life and can go alongside treatment given by other specialists or GP's.

 The care is holistic encompassing physical psychological, social and spiritual dimensions and includes both the patient and family as the unit of care. And to effectively offer a service that delivers this promise we have established the Family Support Unit which will operate within the Tarmons Centre.

 The Family Support Unit is a multidisciplinary team who will provide counseling support to patients and their families at any time during their illness and after. This will include expert bereavement support to both adults and children. To provide optimal care this service will be limited to the Tarmons Centre and St Vincent's patients and families.

 The Tarmons Family Support Unit is a inter-disciplinary team of made up of a psychologist, counsellor, social worker and pastoral care staff.. We believe this change in service will facilitate a unique opportunity to provide a fully integrated approach to patients and families and will position our palliative care service with a point of difference that is not currently provided in other palliative care services in Queensland.

 As a result of this improvement, The Children's and Young Peoples Bereavement Service in its current format will no longer operate. It is not viable for St Vincent's Brisbane to provide this service to the wider community as an isolated program and one which is not integrated into the strategic direction of the St Vincent's palliative care service. There are currently a number of avenues for accessing bereavement counseling services and information for children whose relative has not been a patient of St Vincent's and these include:

•  Paradise Kids
• Centacare Catholic Family & Community Services
• Mackwood Life - KATS (Kids and their sadness)
• A Yellow Pages search identifies numerous counseling services which offer children's grief counseling.

 These changes are part of a bigger plan to fully review all our services at St Vincent's and to introduce new synergized programs that position us as a contemporary, progressive and evidence based medical hospital providing the best outcome to our patients and community.

 We take this opportunity to thank all of our key stakeholders and would be happy to provide you with further information on our services and in particular the Tarmons Centre if you should require.