When it comes to the delivery of hospice palliative care services, Canada is a patchwork of programs, according to a member of parliament from Ontario. What is needed, he said, is the federal government to step forward to provide some leadership and time is critical.
In 2013 Charlie Angus, MP for the northern Ontario riding of Timmins-James Bay, called for a cross-country strategy on palliative and end-of-life care. In May 2014, with a rare show of unity, the House of Commons endorsed the non-binding motion in a near-unanimous vote. Only one MP voted against.
The motion called for the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to ensure access to high-quality hospice palliative care, provide support to caregivers and encourage more discussion and plans for end-of-life planning.
Angus believes high-quality palliative hospice care is something the vast majority of Canadians want. “This isn’t about throwing more money to the system, it’s about ensuring better results,” he said in an interview with the Peak. “We have, in various parts of the country, really good palliative care models in place. And they save the system enormous amounts of money.”
According to the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association the cost of dying to the health care system in Canada ranges from $10,000 for a sudden death to between $30,000 to $40,000 for someone with a terminal illness such as cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Compared to usual acute care, hospital-based hospice palliative care may save approximately $7,000 to $8,000. And it reduces the cost of end-of-life care by 50 per cent or more, by lowering the number of ICU admissions, diagnostic testing, procedures and length of hospital stay.
“If we have a solution that works in Saskatoon why can’t it work in Kamloops?” asked Angus. “If we can learn about how a rural system works in one part of the country it could certainly work in another part of the country.” While there was widespread support for his motion a year ago, in the past 11 months the federal government has done little to move the issue forward. With the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in the doctor-assisted dying case in February there is little time to waste, Angus added. He is concerned the issue of hospice palliative care could be eclipsed by the discussion on doctor-assisted dying, particularly when Canadians are deeply concerned about both.
“I don’t think that’s something that Canadians would think is fair,” Angus said. “Now is the time to move forward on their promise.”
The Peak contacted federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose for an interview, but she was unavailable for comment.
A spokesperson from the minister’s office did provide a statement that the federal government is working with the provinces and territories on ways to ensure Canadians receive the best care and has invested more than $43 million to support palliative care research since 2006. The government’s most recent economic action plan provides up to $42 million to help establish a Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation with a focus on improving palliative care services. It also extends compassionate care benefits from six weeks to six months for families caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and related illnesses.
~ with files from CBC. This is the final part of a three-part series about hospice and palliative care.
