Consumers and community
Virtual reality enriches Kalamunda patients’ last days
A virtual reality project at Kalamunda Hospital (KH) has returned positive results with palliative care patients mostly reporting a reduction in a range of symptoms including tiredness and pain.
The Palliative Care Virtual Reality Project this year delivered an innovative and low-cost service placing us at the cutting edge of addressing quality of life issues for patients nearing the end of their lives.
It had its genesis when the KH Occupational Therapy team approached the EMHS Innovation team for support in designing and delivering a virtual reality pilot after patients reported suffering from boredom in their last stage of life.
End-of-life patients often experience significant functional decline and are sometimes confined to bed, which can lead to boredom due to a lack of meaningful activities – referred to as occupational deprivation.
The pilot was designed to use non-immersive virtual reality to provide dynamic activities tailored to a patient’s preferences.
In this virtual world, inpatients and those at the Kalamunda Day Hospice could choose to do different things such as swim beneath the sea, explore the night sky or spend time with favourite animals.
Fifteen patients took part from February to May 2024, making use of a single Oculus Quest 2 headset.
The pilot ended with excellent results in patient-reported outcomes.
Overall, there was improvement in most symptoms such as pain, tiredness, drowsiness, depression and anxiety, and increased wellbeing. One category, nausea, returned an unfavourable result.
Virtual reality is now on track to become part of the day-to-day offerings at KH.
Exhibition raises awareness of Kalamunda palliative care
An artist-in-residence project at KH has raised awareness of palliative care, with an exhibition of portraits attracting more than 300 visitors in August 2023.
The exhibition was the culmination of a project that saw KH work with the City of Kalamunda to have an artist at the hospital capturing life in the palliative care unit.
“A particularly noteworthy aspect of the project involved using art to capture the life stories and legacies of patients,” KH Nurse Unit Manager Judy Brand said.
“This creative approach not only raises awareness about discussing topics such as death, dying and living well, but also serves to highlight the vital services available at Kalamunda.
“Moreover, it actively promotes community engagement by showcasing the significance of compassionate care in the community.
“Together we will work to improve end-of-life experiences by creating an informed community who can demonstrate their capacity to care for one another at the end of their lives and in illness.”
Patients, family and staff members shared the experience of having artist Aleisha Pirouet working from the hospital from March to May 2023.
The resulting 8 portraits were exhibited at the Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre throughout August 2023 and have been used in a special book.
The City of Kalamunda received funding from the Department of Health to run the artist-in-residence project through its Compassionate Communities program.
Health hub in fast growing shire starts to take shape
Progress on a Byford Health Hub to meet the needs of residents in one of WA’s fastest growing local government areas took important steps forward this year.
An operational model was developed, and a process began to select WA Health and other health services for the new centre, which is planned for the Byford town centre and will provide care for residents in the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale.
Perth-based Architects have been appointed to design the hub.
To raise awareness of the project, a community artist was engaged to work with students in 2 Byford high schools. Student artwork reflecting Byford’s identity will be used to create hub branding.
EMHS is coordinating planning, design, development and delivery of the facility and will operate it after the planned opening in 2026/27. An innovative Integrated Service Delivery Model aligns with recommendations in the WA Government’s Sustainable Health Review.
The Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale has been working with EMHS on the project. Traditional Owners are providing cultural advice.
Announced in February 2021, it is anticipated the 2-storey, 3,000 square metre hub will house services including child community health, maternal, paediatrics, allied health and other specialist care to cater to the area’s growing community of more than 36,000 residents.
