Volunteering in Palliative Care

What is a palliative care volunteer?

• Palliative care volunteers provide practical help and companionship to people living with advanced illness, their carers and families.
  
• Palliative care volunteers work in both community settings (ie where the palliative care patient or client lives) and inpatient settings (ie hospices or palliative care units in hospitals).
  
• Palliative care volunteers have long been considered a key part of the palliative care team. Other members of the team include nurses, doctors, social workers, pastoral care workers and allied health professionals (eg physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists etc).

Can I become a palliative care volunteer?

• Palliative care volunteers are generally over the age of 18. Formal qualifications and experience are not necessary although some life experience is often helpful.
  
• The most valuable attributes for any palliative care volunteer include:

  - a desire to help people who are confronting problems commonly associated with dying, death and bereavement
  - an openness to learn about life, loss and grief
  - the capacity to communicate sensitively with a very wide range of people
  - a willingness to work in a team.

• Palliative care volunteers are normally required to do basic training and take part in a formal interview with the palliative care service before commencing work.

What would I do as a palliative care volunteer?

• Palliative care volunteers work as part of a team to support and care for people living with advanced life limiting illness. The exact tasks undertaken by palliative care volunteers varies according to the approach of the palliative care service and the needs and capabilities of the clients.
  
• The work of a palliative care volunteer is very diverse, but common themes include:

- spending time with a person while their carer goes out for a break or to do some shopping
- providing company and companionship for clients and their carers and families
- helping with the shopping or getting to appointments
- answering the phone or writing letters
- writing a person’s life story or other life-enhancement projects
- gentle massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and other complementary therapies approved by the palliative care service.

What does palliative care volunteer training involve?

• All palliative care services provide comprehensive and ongoing training for their palliative care volunteers.
  
• Introductory courses for aspiring palliative care volunteers are offered by the Professional Development Centre (part of Cancer Council WA) in Perth and other regional centres around Western Australia.
  
• Basic training is required before palliative care volunteers can commence work with a palliative care service. The amount of training required before a palliative care volunteer can commence work varies between services – in general it is more than 20 hours.

Who should I contact if I want to become a palliative care volunteer?

• If you want to learn more about becoming a palliative care volunteer, contact your local palliative care service – simply search on your postcode in the National Palliative Care Services Directory
  
  

• There is a lot of information about palliative care volunteering on the internet, some of the following sites might be helpful:
  

- www.caresearch.com.au - CareSearch is an online resource of palliative care information and evidence, all materials included in this website are reviewed for quality and relevance – this page includes a video of volunteers speaking about their experience in palliative care
- www.volunteeringaustralia.org – Volunteering Australia is the national peak body working to advance volunteering in the Australian community, its role is to represent the diverse views and needs of the volunteering sector while promoting the activity of volunteering as one of enduring social, cultural and economic value
- www.volunteeringwa.org.au – Volunteering WA aims to build strong communities through volunteering and provides a range of resources, services and support so that people in Western Australia are aware of, and understand, the nature and scope of volunteer activity


• You are also welcome to call Palliative Care WA Inc on 1300 551 704 or email us on pcwainc@palliativecarewa.asn.au for more information.

   

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