Palliative Care Framework: New Zealand

Running head: PALLIATIVE CARE FRAMEWORK: NEW ZEALAND
PALLIATIVE CARE FRAMEWORK: NEW ZEALAND
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1PALLIATIVE CARE FRAMEWORK: NEW ZEALAND
Introduction
The succeeding section of this paper will emphasize on functioning of New Zealand’s
palliative care frameworks and the associated best practice trends, care aspects, ethical and legal
considerations.
Discussion
Palliative Care Framework: New Zealand
The New Zealand Palliative Care Strategy is one of the most comprehensive palliative
care frameworks which functions on the principles that despite the numbered days of terminally
ill individuals, every patient admitted to end of life and palliative services deserves holistic
treatment and fulfillment of a wellbeing across social, physical and psychological spheres
(Dempers & Gott, 2017). This key national framework was developed by the Health Funding
Authority and Ministry of Health, as per the concluding recommendations of the ‘Care of Dying’
project by the National Health Committee which indicated alarming increments in New
Zealand’s aged population and rising demands of care in the country’s hospices and aged care
homes (Slater et al., 2016).
Trends for Best Practice
Terminally ill patients and families undergoing palliative and end of life care services are
required to overcome a multitude of distressful physiological, psychological and emotional
upheavals (McLeod, 2016). Hence, palliative care services must seek to mitigate these concerns
through engagement in professional trends and practices evidenced to yield positive health
outcomes and best results (Slater et al., 2016). Hence to ensure such satisfactory results across

2PALLIATIVE CARE FRAMEWORK: NEW ZEALAND
palliative care patients and families, palliative care services must aim to deliver healthcare
services which are people centered and directly encourages families and patients to take
therapeutic decisions, deliver cultural competent care sensitive to the diverse needs of culturally
diverse patients like Maoris, ensure interpersonal communication between the patient, his or her
family and the palliative care staff, include a multidisciplinary team delivering holistic social,
psychological and physiological care to patients, respect the autonomous decisions of patients
on their choice of interventions and practice family centered approaches by allowing patients to
remain connected with their family/ whānau’ (Mason et al., 2019).
Significant Care Aspect
The aspect of palliative care which allows healthcare organizations delivering palliative
care to adhere to the needs of life and dying for patients and families is commitment to include
culturally sensitive aspects of ‘Te Whare Tapa Whā’ and ‘Whānau’ (Oetzel et al., 2015). Maori
indigenous cultures believe in the healthcare aspect of ‘Te Whare Tapa Whā’ which dictates that
for achieving optimum health practices, one must maintain equilibrium of the aspects of taha
tinana (physical health), taha whānau (family), taha wairua (spiritual health) and taha hinengaroa
(mental health). Palliative care frameworks adhere to these cultural needs by providing holistic,
multidisciplinary care services which alleviates a person’s physical health, ensures mental and
emotional wellbeing, allows patients to be connected to their family members and also ensures
compliance to their ethnically diverse spiritual needs (Kidd et al., 2018). Additionally, Maoris
also hold the concept of ‘Whānau’ close to their heart, which implies the importance of one’s
engagement with his or her family. Hence, palliative care services of New Zealand also ensure
adherence to the same by practicing family centered approaches as well as assisting family
members in delivering familial care practices to the concerned patient (Simpson et al., 2015).