Public Policy in MND Care: The Australian Perspective

Financial support, access to respite care, ‘in-home support’ and assistive technologies and access to specialist palliative care for MND patients vary between and within the Australian states and the age groups of patients. While care takes place mainly at home, proportions dying at home vary between 25 and 34 percent. MND multidisciplinary clinics operate in the capital city of each mainland state. Most states have statutory Advance Health Directives, but voluntary assisted dying is only available in the states of Victoria and Western Australia to date. To improve care and advance research, improvements are needed at three levels: the government, the workforce and the community. Public services need to be delivered in a more timely, efficient, integrated and equitable manner. In order to inform future planning and policies for solutions to the growing demand for family/informal care and the associated challenges encountered by family carers, it is essential to integrate family carers’ needs into service planning.