DonateLife Queensland (DLQ) believe a fundamental shift in the way staff connect and coordinate efforts to better support donor families at this most harrowing of times has contributed to this outcome. This resulted in a 47 per cent increase from 2016-17 in the number families choosing to donate after the death of loved one. DLQ implemented a robust package of audit, hospital engagement and professional development initiatives, including the Queensland Strategic Plan 2016-17 and Best Practice Processes to Optimise Organ Donation for Transplantation. These have better aligned Department of Health staff competencies about organ donation processes with best practice clinical care, particularly among health professionals providing dignified end-of-life-care in emergency and ICU settings. DLQ has simultaneously extended community outreach programs to inform and prompt public discussion and decision-making about organ and tissue donation.
The project was a finalist in the Connecting Healthcare Category at the 2017 Queensland Health Awards for Excellence.
