The hardest thing we have ever done - Palliative Care Australia

Foreword
This report is presented by Palliative Care Australia to honour the contribution of the many
thousands of Australians who provide high quality care to people who die from a terminal
illness each year.
Dedicated effort continues to improve the quality of care offered to people at the end of life.
We know that their partners, parents, sons and daughters, siblings, friends, neighbours,
colleagues and communities continue to provide most of this care.
‘The Hardest Thing We Have Ever Done’ presents evidence that many carers regard caring for
dying people as a privilege and are able to reap important rewards from the experience. Our
research has brought to light the resilience, resourcefulness and commitment of carers, many
of whom are aged, unwell and economically disadvantaged. Palliative Care Australia is, more
than ever, convinced that such people require recognition and better services. We have
initiated, using the evidence in this report, a campaign for broad social change, which, in the
medium-to long-term, will improve outcomes for those who care for dying people. Palliative
Care Australia will work with the community, governments, the media, stakeholder
organisations and service providers to help them understand the problems with which carers
contend every day and to improve their services, processes and communications.
The report is entitled ‘The Hardest Thing We Have Ever Done’, a direct quote from a woman
whose father died of prostate cancer, and it highlights just how gruelling and exacting
caring responsibilities can be. It demonstrates that individuals, and consequently society as a
whole, experience significant negative effects if carers don’t receive the support and care
they require. The most powerful message in the report is that the Australian community,
policy-makers and health service providers in particular need to pay attention to supporting
carers and better tailor their services to meet their unmet needs.
I encourage all of us to take on board the recommendations and suggestions for reform in
this document and to contact Palliative Care Australia to learn more about our vision of
improved support for carers.
Lastly, I thank, on behalf of all at Palliative Care Australia, all the carers who do such a
magnificient job in caring for dying people in our community, especially those who have
contributed to this document.
Professor David Currow
President
THE HARDEST THING WE HAVE EVER DONE: The Social Impact of Caring for Terminally Ill People in Australia, 2004
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