Dr McMaster, who is coming to Orange in November to speak at a public forum on cancer issues, says she has recently enlisted the aid of the Country Women’s Association to push for more resources and money to be put into palliative care.

“People prepare for a birth, a marriage or a death and at the end of life people need privacy,” she said.

Dr McMaster says she hopes bureaucrats in hospitals across the state, including Orange, need to look closely at the way they deliver palliative care both in hospitals and in the community and adequate resources need to be put in place.

She was responding to a call by Cr Glenn Taylor for Orange City Council to support a motion to be put to council at the first meeting in October to push for NSW Health to fund a specially dedicated palliative care ward at Orange hospital.

“If someone for example is in the final stages of their life and they develop the death rattles, which happens, it is very distressing for family members to think they don’t have complete privacy,” she said.

“Being able to set aside private places where families come together to bond is so important.

“People also need a private place where they can be close and start their grieving process as someone comes towards the end of their life.”

Dr McMaster, who is now retired but travels the state advocating for improved palliative care services, says since she first became a palliative care specialist she has noticed dramatic changes in the way people’s lives can be extended.

“Some people may be palliatively cared for up to five years before their end of life and in that time they can go through acute care episodes during their treatment,” she said.

Dr McMaster said during her visit to Orange in November she hopes to recruit a local resident who will become a palliative care ambassador for Orange.

“I have already managed to get someone to come on board in Bathurst and in Dubbo, so when I come to Orange I am happy to hear from anyone who will be interested,” she said.