INTRODUCTION: Virtual technology can be utilised to rapidly assess deteriorating or unstable people with palliative care needs in the community and address specialist palliative care access demands. The Virtual Palliative Care Navigator Service (VPCNS) uses videoconferencing to support Ambulance, GPs, ED and RACF clinicians to provide best supportive or EOL care at home through Virtual assessment, triage and coordinated access to community supportive care for people not known to existing palliative care services.  

BODY: Siloed service provision exists between Ambulance, ED, GPs, RACFs, community primary care and specialist palliative care services. The VPCNS initiative supports timely access for frontline clinicians to specialist palliative care services.  Following extensive stakeholder engagement, the VPCNS was collaboratively co-designed with paramedic, GP, primary health, and specialist palliative care input. In alignment with intersectoral and government End of Life and Palliative Care policy and guidelines, virtual technology is used to facilitate a single point of escalation for rapid specialist palliative care assessment, triage, and navigation to community palliative care services for unwell patients who wish to remain at home. Virtual technology is an effective bridge to specialist palliative care, especially for those people not linked to existing services. Almost 84% of patients assessed by the VPCNS were not known to an existing palliative care service, yet three quarters of the patients were in the unstable, deteriorating, or terminal phase. ED presentation was avoided in 90% of patients assessed by the VPCNS.  

CONCLUSION: Timely access to community-based palliative care is crucial to enhance patient outcomes and improve quality of life. Virtual technology can successfully, rapidly, and accurately assess palliative care needs in unstable and deteriorating patients to establish referral or escalation pathways and to effectively guide interdisciplinary clinicians with decision making support to inform the clinical care of people who wish to remain in the community.