Blake completed a PEPA placement with a very clear outline of what he wanted the outcome to be. Blake wanted to to have open discussions about advocacy services for patients and families so that there is someone who is available to help patients and families speak up when they interact with the medical system.
Blake has noted that “Palliative care and end of life care discussion can be very difficult and discussions around hope and prognosis are uncomfortable. There may be difficulty for medical professionals to relinquish the patient from their care because they believe they are providing the optimum care for the patient with their treatment. However, it may not be treatment and the potential extension of life that the patient wants if that quality of life is poor and prevents the patient on working on the psychosocial areas of their life that may be more important to them. I think this is important for Aboriginal patients who may not understand the health treatment but nod and keep going on with care, without the full understanding of the impact on the end of life journey.”
Blake was able to have the Multi Disciplinary forum discussion go ahead and the discussions were important for future patients as “focus on what is important for the patient and where the line between treatment and quality of life can be hard to distinguish.”
Blake will continue to speak to other professionals and bring up the ideas of patient advocacy, the patients voice and the importance of health patients to reflect on who they are providing treatment for? Themselves or the patient?