Modbury Hospital’s new Wirringka Palliative Care Service is now complete, marking another key milestone in the $98 million redevelopment of the hospital.
With the first patients admitted to the facility in December 2021, a tour of the 20-bed unit was given to key stakeholders including board members, consumers, medical professionals, other service providers and Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) executives.
Alice Every, Nursing Director Aged Care, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care, says that the newly refurbished space will allow patients and their loved ones improved privacy and space for quality time together.
“The considerations that have gone into the patient experience are fantastic. Palliative care is such a critical time in the experience of a patient and that of their family, so it’s invaluable having quality facilities that make the time easier and more comfortable.”
The name of the facility is particularly fitting, Wirringka means ‘together’ in Kaurna language which reflects the family intent behind the architectural design. Private suites will ensure that northern patients with a life-limiting illness and their families will have appropriate space and privacy as they receive care and symptom management.
Emphasis has also been placed on renewing the garden surrounds, named Mirnu Wirra, or ‘Golden Wattle Grove’ in Kaurna language, ensuring that patients can enjoy time outside, walking or listening to the resident birdlife.
The Northern Adelaide Palliative Service (NAPS) offers a multi-disciplinary approach to enhancing quality of life and encompasses all aspects of a person’s care needs including the physical, social, spiritual, psychological and emotional factors.
“The care was second to none.”
“At such a difficult and heartbreaking time, the nurses, doctors and volunteers knew exactly what to do and to say – we’d have been lost without them. Nothing was too much trouble, and the care they provided for my beautiful wife was second to none. I’ll be forever grateful to the palliative care team.”
John P
