LEARNING GLOBALLY AND INSPIRING LOCALLY: The quest to create an Australian framework for a Palliative Care Pharmacist
With
Helen Stone, SA/NT State and Territory Manager
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA)
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Adelaide | February 2026
Helen is the State and Territory Manager SA & NT for the Pharmaceutical Society Australia. Her professional interests include palliative care, pharmacist professional services, mental health, leadership, and management.
With a strong vision for expanding pharmacist roles, Helen has effectively leveraged the expertise of GP pharmacists, aged care pharmacist pioneers and key research studies to implement funded service delivery programs. In recent projects, she has led teams of pharmacists in innovative pharmacy practice models including in aged care, GP practice, palliative care and dementia support. This has contributed to the body of evidence for sustainable funding for embedded pharmacist roles in primary care and aged care settings.
Helen is a member of Palliative Care Australia’s National Expert Advisory Panel and continues as an inaugural member of the SA Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board.
She provides regular expert opinion for legislation and pharmacist programs across her jurisdiction including vaccinations by pharmacists, voluntary assisted dying, palliative care and innovative pharmacist practice.
She is a graduate of the AICD, the SA Governor’s Leadership Foundation program and in 2020 was awarded an Churchill Trust fellowship. Helen travelled to Canada, the UK and New Zealand to articulate a framework for the role of Palliative Care Pharmacist in community and aged care in Australia.
The role of the pharmacist in a multidisciplinary team is not well understood even though medications are a key enabler for people to die in the place of their choosing. Pharmacists are medication experts and palliative care pharmacists are currently only engaged in the acute care setting. The pharmacist facilitates communication with specialist services as the medicines expert on prescribing and de-prescribing medicines. Palliative Care pharmacists should be accessible in the community, aged care and other care settings outside of acute hospitals and Helen’s project articulated a framework for the role in an Australian context.
Recently, Helen was awarded a Fellowship of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia in recognition of her significant advancement of the practice of pharmacists and outstanding contribution to the Society over an extended period of time.
Source: Supplied and referenced from the Winston Churchill Trust website
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“Nurses can do more, should do more and now they will do more”, The Hon Minister Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health.
Advanced Practice Nurses comprise 9% of the total nursing workforce, with 26,000 clinicians Australia wide. However although highly skilled, they are under-utilised and constrained to the full scope of practice. The Australian College of Nursing believes this needs to change. Nurse led models of care in which Advanced Practice Nurses play a significant role in service provision, must feature in the future. ACN President Professor Christine Duffield FACN states, “It’s now widely acknowledged internationally that nurses can provide a clinical and very valuable service that’s better suited to the healthcare needs of some consumer groups.”
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Landmark Australian-led study revises thresholds to diagnose and treat anaemia
In 2014, WEHI researchers began a study at the request of the World Health Organization (WHO), to formally review its global anaemia guidelines that were last updated in 1968.
Study lead and Acting WEHI Deputy Director, Professor Sant-Rayn Pasricha, speaking to Australian Health Journal said while anaemia can be diagnosed by measuring the amount of haemoglobin in the blood, there is currently no consensus on the thresholds that should be used to define the condition. -
Interview with Kylie Ward, CEO Australian College of Nursing
Kylie Ward, CEO Australian College of Nursing spoke with Anne Dao from Australian Health Journal, at last week’s Australian Healthcare Week Expo on the vital role of the nursing professional.
Australian College of Nursing oversees 390,000 nurses in Australia and is the national leader in the nursing profession.
Changes in nursing policy are needed in areas of aged care, chronic disease and workforce sustainability. There are forecasts of shortages in nursing by the year 2025 of 80,000 and by 2030 the number growing by 125,000.
Kylie also mentioned the new Nursing Trailbrazers Award that has been recognised by Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt. The 4 finalists have been recognised for influencing models of care, and implementing game changing initiatives across the country. They will be presented at the Nursing Now Australia event held by the ACN on 9th April.
