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Hospice not place to provide MAiD

Macey concerned by Fraser Health efforts to expand Medical Assistance in Dying to various care settings
Nancy Macey
Nancy Macey founded Delta Hospice Society 25 years ago.

It’s something that shouldn’t take place in a hospice setting.

Delta Hospice Society executive director Nancy Macey had that to say about the possibility the Ladner hospice would be required to provide medically assisted deaths.

Fraser Health is exploring setting up Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in various care settings, including hospices, a move Macey said is being done without prior consultation.

“They opened up a unit in New Westminster where they do the procedure and that’s been basically successful and dedicated for people who don’t want the procedure at home and have someone qualified there. What we got wind of is they (Fraser Health) verified they’re looking to put it in hospices and other care settings. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a procedure and we don’t do procedures in a hospice. It’s completely philosophically wrong with what we’re doing in palliative care,” she said.

In July 2016, the federal government passed legislation governing MAiD, permitting medical assistance in dying. Under the new law, doctors “may provide medical assistance in dying to capable, consenting adults who have a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes enduring, intolerable suffering and who are at a point where natural death is reasonably foreseeable.”

Macey, who founded Delta Hospice 25 years ago, said she’s concerned associating MAiD with hospices will only discourage people from utilizing them.

“Most of our hospices are purpose-built, we’ve got specialist nurses, specialist staff. They’re there to manage symptoms and (provide) spiritual support. People and MAiD don’t come for that, they’ve made a decision to have it in a place that’s purpose-built and has that specialty and has those resources,” she said.

Scheduled to meet Fraser Health officials today, Macey said she’d like hospices to be able to opt out of having to also be a space for MAiD.

A Fraser Health spokesperson told the Optimist, “Health authorities across B.C. have the capacity to provide medical assistance in dying in hospital, home, residential care, palliative or hospice settings. When a patient has made this difficult decision, we need to consider how to offer it in the most patient centred way we can. We continue to offer support to our patients as we have been phasing this in across our region.”

Delta South MLA Ian Paton’s office has been trying to find out what the FHA has in store, noting implementing MAiD has not been not a directive from the NDP government, but rather Fraser Health acting on its legal authority.

The health region also provided Paton’s office with a statement which reads in part, “We recognize the concerns of some palliative care physicians and hospice societies who feel assisted dying may conflict with a core philosophy of palliative and end of life care — to alleviate suffering as the patient reaches their natural death. We continue to take a phased approach to implementing this service across our region, beginning with our hospitals, communities, residential care facilities and hospices. We are committed to providing this patient-centred service across our region, keeping in line with the rest of the province.”

Macey said the Delta Hospice Society board has not heard formally from the health region. She said as a result the board has not made any decisions based on rumoured or pending changes to the implementation of MAiD. 

The society opened the Irene Thomas Hospice and the Harold & Veronica Savage Centre for Supportive Care seven years ago.