Palliative Care Support in Aged Residential Care

31 March 2025

About palliative care

Palliative care helps people with a life limiting illness live their life as fully and comfortably as possible.


Palliative care identifies and treats symptoms which may be physical, emotional, spiritual, or social. It is a family centred model of care, meaning that whānau and friends can also receive practical and emotional support.

Palliative care in aged care

Aged Residential Care (ARC) facilities are increasingly important settings for palliative and end of life care. The ARC facility staff and GP are the main providers of your care. They are supported by the Nurse Maude Palliative Aged Residential Care (PARC) service.

Palliative Aged Residential Care (PARC) Service

The Nurse Maude PARC service is part of the Hospice Palliative Care Service at Nurse Maude. The PARC service is a team of Clinical Nurse Specialists who work in partnership with all ARC facilities across Canterbury to ensure palliative care support is available to residents and their whānau.


The focus of the PARC team is on education and specialist support of the facility staff to assist with palliative care provision. This may include symptom management advice, help with advance care planning, assisting with family meetings and consultation with the wider Nurse Maude Hospice Palliative Care Service. Your facility nurse may ask the PARC Clinical Nurse Specialist to meet you and/or your whānau if appropriate.

Our position on the End of Life Choice Act 2019

We will follow our obligations in accordance with the Act if a resident wishes to explore euthanasia. However, our staff will not assess residents for eligibility, nor be present during the administration of any medication used in euthanasia, wherever that may take place. Please note that our position may not reflect the position of your facility. Please discuss with the Clinical Manager.

For more information

To find out more about the service or palliative care, please do talk to your facility nurse.


We welcome comments on the Nurse Maude PARC service.


Please feel free to complete our online survey here or phone the Nurse Maude Hospice on 03 375 4274 and ask for the Service Manager.

Download this article as a brochure
Two new appointments headline on a blue gradient slide with two silhouetted figures.
20 July 2026
Nurse Maude appoints Kelvin Mason as Chief Financial Officer and welcomes Rowhan Kelly as General Manager, Service Development, strengthening its leadership.
Press release announcing new partnership to shape home care for kaumātua, with brochures on a blue gradient background
8 July 2026
Nurse Maude Association and Te Puawaitanga ki Ōtautahi Trust have entered a new partnership to co-design the future of home care for the community in Ōtautahi, bringing together more than a century of community care experience with a kaupapa Māori approach to whānau support. The organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalising their shared commitment to design and deliver home care services grounded in whānau, responsive to Māori, and connected to the wider needs of the community. The partnership brings together Nurse Maude's long-standing expertise in home and community health care with Te Puawaitanga ki Ōtautahi Trust’s kaupapa Māori approach and extensive experience supporting whānau from māmā and pēpi through to our kaumatua services such as our Taurite Tū; Wai Ora and Oranga Tonutanga programmes. Together, the organisations will explore new models of care that support whānau and kaumātua to remain well, connected and living independently at home. The signing, held in the lead-up to Matariki, reflected the shared values and whakapapa of both organisations. Matariki is a time to remember those who have gone before us, give thanks for the present, and look ahead with hope. A strong theme throughout the day was the legacy of Dame Aroha Reriti-Crofts and Sibylla Maude, two remarkable wāhine whose vision, compassion and commitment to their communities continue to shape the work of both organisations. This partnership honours that legacy, while creating opportunities for future generations. While the partnership has a strong focus on improving outcomes for Māori, both organisations believe the learning and approaches developed through this mahi have the potential to strengthen home care services for everyone in Ōtautahi.