St John of God Murdoch Community Hospice is situated within the tranquil grounds of St. John of God Hospital in Perth’s southern suburb of Murdoch. The 20-bed facility is unique to Western Australia as the only freestanding purpose-built hospice in the state.
The hospice was opened in 1998 after three years of planning and an 18-month community fundraising campaign. While it started out as an independent facility, in February 2006 the Murdoch Community Hospice joined St. John of God Health Care to become St.John of God Murdoch Community Hospice. Both organisations shared their philosophy and values, and the merger left the hospice better positioned to continue providing excellent care.
The hospice is a warm and friendly place where specialist palliative care is delivered by a highly-skilled interdisciplinary team. The holistic approach to care acknowledges the physical, psychological, spiritual, emotional, social, and cultural needs of patients and their families. About half of the patients die during their admission, while the others will go home with improved quality of life.
The hospice also runs a day centre; Footprints, which offers a range of complementary therapies from qualified professionals who offer their services as volunteers, as well as group work, meditation, guided imagery and information, amongst other things. The aim of the centre is to support both the patient and their carers as they live with their progressive disease.
The hospice has become widely known within the health sector as an expert provider of education and training and has supported PEPA since 2003 by offering placements to nurses, GPs, allied health professionals and Aboriginal Health Workers. During this round of funding 43 PEPA participants have been mentored by the hospice staff with excellent feedback from the participants and their employers.
As one GP commented after his placement:
‘Excellent placement experience. The team at SJOG Murdoch Community Hospice should be congratulated and encouraged to continue the great work they do’.
For more information, please visit https://www.sjog.org.au/our-locations/st-john-of-god-murdoch-community-hospice