The desire of thousands of gravely ill Australians to die without pain and surrounded by family is going unmet because palliative care services fall badly short, the national peak body has warned.
Just one palliative medicine specialist is available for every 704 deaths each year, according to Palliative Care Australia.
It has called on the Turnbull government to make palliative care a national health priority, appoint a ‘national palliative care commissioner’ and ensure health workers can better help grief-stricken…
The pleas come six months after a draft Productivity Commission report predicted that without a…