Tag: palliative care

West Island Palliative Care Residence clarifies care it offers following passage of Quebec’s end-of-life legislation

Hospice statement 5 June following passage of euthansia law in Quebec

Will continue to provide care and comfort to terminally ill but will NOT act to hasten natural process of death

For immediate release

KIRKLAND, Quebec – June 5, 2014 – In light of the passage today by the National Assembly of new Quebec end-of-life legislation, the West Island Palliative Care Residence wishes to clarify that the new legislation will not change in any way the services it provides to terminally ill patients.

The Residence will continue to act in the way it always has – to provide the best possible care and comfort, including symptom relief to the dying but without taking any actions that hasten the natural process of death.

The new Quebec legislation permits, under certain conditions, Quebec health institutions and health professionals to provide “medical aid in dying” – the administration of drugs or other actions to intentionally cause the death of a patient. The legislation also permits any health professional as well as “palliative care hospices,” of which the West Island Palliative Care Residence is one, the option to choose not to do so, provided patients are informed that this is the case.

The West Island Palliative Care Residence has chosen to exercise this option and to make no change to the type and methods of care it delivers, meaning it will not take actions that intentionally cause a patient’s death.

“The goal of good palliative care is never to hasten the end of life,” said Teresa Dellar, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Residence. “We make the last days of life as comfortable and pain-free as possible so patients can live them in the best possible manner.” In fact, she noted, good palliative care from early on in a terminal illness has been shown in clinical studies to both extend patients’ lives and improve their quality of life.

“If we as a society are going to offer more choices to patients at the end of life, as this legislation does, then we must ensure one of those choices is ready access to high-quality palliative care in the patient’s community, as we offer at our Residence,” continued Ms. Dellar. “If quality palliative care is available, few will choose to end their lives prematurely. We can’t allow the premature ending of lives to become a substitute for our responsibility to provide compassionate care and symptom relief at the end of life.”

The West Island Palliative Care Residence will be changing its application forms and information for patients and families to comply with the new legislation and make it clear to them that the Residence will not provide the intentional end-of-life services now permitted.

About palliative care

Palliative care does not hasten death – as do euthanasia and assisted suicide – but ensures it is as comfortable, dignified and pain-free as possible. It is a conservative estimate that palliative care could be useful in more than half of Canadian deaths, or more than 125,000 patients per year. As proportionately fewer Canadians die suddenly or quickly from accidents or acute illnesses, more face end of life with chronic illnesses or diseases such as cancer that can extend over a relatively long period of time. Many dying patients end up in hospital ERs during the last weeks of life, an indicator of poor-quality end-of-life care and a very expensive and unsatisfactory alternative to palliative care.

About the West Island Palliative Care Residence

The West Island Palliative Care Residence is an independent, community-based, non-profit institution, accredited by the Quebec government to provide end-of-life palliative care services to residents of the West Island of Montreal. The Residence allows terminally ill patients to die in comfort and with dignity in a warm, home-like environment, close to their family, and in their community. It is not part of or affiliated with any hospital or health institution and services are provided without charge. The Residence has 23 beds in two pavilions, making it the largest freestanding palliative care residence in Canada. Since opening in 2002, the Residence has welcomed more than 2,500 patients in the final stages of ALS, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as 10,000 of their family members. To learn more, visit ww.wipcr.ca

For more information:
Joanne Myers, Director of Development
Tel.: 514 693-1718, ext. 234
Mobile: 514 978-0793

Hearings on Quebec Bill 52: Quebec Society of Palliative Care Physicians

Dr. Patrick Vinay, Dr. Michelle Dallaire

Wednesday, 2 October 2013 – Vol. 43 N° 41

Note: The following translation is the product of a first run through Google Translate.  In most cases it is  sufficient to identify statements of interest, but more careful translation is  required to properly understand the text.  Translation block numbers (T#) have been assigned by the Project as references to facilitate analysis and discussion.

Original Text

T#

Caution: raw machine translation
(version non révisée)
Unrevised version
(Onze heures huit minutes)
Le Président (M. Bergman) : À l’ordre, s’il vous plaît! Alors, collègues, ayant constaté le quorum, je déclare la séance de la Commission de la santé et des services sociaux ouverte. La commission est réunie afin de poursuivre les consultations particulières et les auditions publiques sur le projet de loi n° 52, Loi concernant les soins de fin de vie. 001 The Chairman (Mr. Bergman): Order, please! So, colleagues, noting a quorum, I declare the meeting of the Board of Health and Social Services opened. The Committee met to continue the special consultations and public hearings on Bill 52, An Act respecting the end-of-life.
Mme la secrétaire, y a-t-il des remplacements? 002
La Secrétaire : Non, M. le Président. 003
Le Président (M. Bergman) : Alors, collègues, on reçoit maintenant la Société québécoise des médecins de soins palliatifs. Dr Vinay, Dr Dallaire, bienvenue. Vous avez 15 minutes pour faire votre présentation, suivie d’un échange avec les membres de la commission. Donnez-nous vos noms, vos titres. Et les prochaines 15 minutes, c’est à vous. Et bienvenue encore à l’Assemblée nationale. 004 So, colleagues, is now receiving the Quebec Society of Palliative Care Physicians. Dr Vinay, Dr. Dallaire, welcome. You have 15 minutes to make your presentation, followed by a discussion with the members of the commission. Give us your name, your title. And the next 15 minutes, it’s up to you. And welcome back to the National Assembly.
M. Vinay (Patrick) : Alors, je suis le Dr Patrick Vinay. Et je suis actuellement le président de la Société québécoise des médecins de soins palliatifs. 005 Mr. Vinay (Patrick): So, I’m Dr. Patrick Vinay. And I am currently the president of the Quebec Society of Palliative Care Physicians.
Mme Dallaire (Michelle) : Michelle Dallaire. Alors, je suis aussi médecin en soins palliatifs depuis plus de 15 ans. Je fais des soins palliatifs à domicile dans la région de Saint-Hyacinthe depuis deux ans. Et, avant ça, j’ai travaillé pendant une quinzaine d’années à l’Hôpital Notre-Dame du CHUM. 006 Ms. Dallaire (Michelle): Michelle Dallaire. So, I’m also a palliative care physician for over 15 years. I palliative home care in the region of Saint-Hyacinthe for two years. And before that, I worked for fifteen years at Notre Dame du CHUM Hospital.

Full translation

Hearings on Quebec Bill 52: Quebec Palliative Care Network

Alberte Déry, Dr.Christiane Martel, Danielle Blondeau, Pierre Deschamps, Jessy Savaria, Yvan Lessard

Tuesday, 1 October 2013 – Vol. 43 N° 40

Note: The following translation is the product of a first run through Google Translate.  In most cases it is  sufficient to identify statements of interest, but more careful translation is  required to properly understand the text.  Translation block numbers (T#) have been assigned by the Project as references to facilitate analysis and discussion.

Original Text

T#

Caution: raw machine translation
17 h (version non révisée)
(Reprise à 17 h 0)
Le Président (M. Bergman) : À l’ordre, s’il vous plaît! Alors, collègues, on reçoit maintenant le Réseau des soins palliatifs du Québec. Je vous souhaite la bienvenue. Vous avez 15 minutes pour faire votre présentation, suivie d’un échange avec les membres de la commission. S’il vous plaît, donnez-nous vos noms, vos titres, et vous avez le micro maintenant. 001 Order, please! So, colleagues, is now receiving the Palliative Care Network of Quebec. I welcome you. You have 15 minutes to make your presentation, followed by a discussion with the members of the commission. Please give us your name, your credentials, and you have the microphone now.
Mme Déry (Alberte) : Merci beaucoup. Alors, bonjour, M. le Président, et messieurs mesdames les parlementaires. Je suis Alberte Déry, je suis présidente du Réseau des soins palliatifs du Québec. Je suis diplômée en sciences infirmières et je m’implique en soins palliatifs depuis maintenant 26 ans, et je suis directrice générale présentement à l’organisme Palli-Aide, au Saguenay, qui fait de l’accompagnement en soins palliatifs. J’ai le grand privilège d’être accompagné aujourd’hui par d’éminents experts dans le domaine des soins palliatifs et des soins de fin de vie, soit le docteur… à ma gauche, le Dre Christiane Martel, qui est médecin en soins palliatifs pour le CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska, région Saint-Hyacinthe, et pour La Maison Victor-Gadbois, à ma droite, Mme Danielle Blondeau, professeure associée à la Faculté des sciences infirmières à l’Université Laval, titulaire d’un doctorat en éthique et présidente du comité d’éthique de notre association, et enfin M. Pierre Deschamps, avocat… qui est à ma gauche, et notre seul homme, donc… avocat éthicien bien connu, il a notamment été président du conseil d’administration de LEUCAN, il est président de la Fondation Charles-Bruneau pendant 15 ans, il est aussi membre du comité des droits de la personne à l’Association canadienne des soins palliatifs. On a aussi avec nous des membres du réseau qui nous accompagnent ainsi que notre directeur général, M. Jessy Savaria, un membre du conseil d’administration, M. Yvan Lessard, et ainsi que notre personnel… notre personne aux communications. 002 Mme Déry (Alberte) : Thank you. So , hello, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen parliamentarians. I Alberte Déry, I’m the president of the Quebec Palliative Care Network. I have a degree in nursing and I am involved in palliative care for 26 years , and I am currently the CEO organization Palli – Help , Saguenay , which is the support in palliative care. I have the great privilege to be joined today by leading experts in the field of palliative care and end of life, or the doctor … to my left , Dr. Christiane Martel, who is medical care palliative for the CSSS Richelieu- Yamaska, Saint- Hyacinthe region , and La Maison Victor- Gadbois, to my right, Danielle Blondeau, associated with the Faculty of Nursing at Laval University Professor, PhD ethics and chair of the ethics committee of our association, and finally Pierre Deschamps , lawyer … who is to my left, and this one man , so … well-known ethicist lawyer , he has been Chairman of the Board of Directors LEUCAN he is president of the Charles -Bruneau Foundation for 15 years, he is also a member of the Committee for human Rights in the Canadian hospice Palliative Care Association . It was also with us network members who accompany us and our CEO, Mr. Jessy Savaria, a member of the Board of Directors, Mr. Yvan Lessard , and as our staff … our communications person .

Full Translation

Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians rejects euthanasia

The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians has rejected a recommendation from a Quebec legislative committee that euthanasia and physician assisted suicide be legalized.  The Society stated that the procedures contradict “a fundamental tenet” of the Society and most palliative care physicians.  The president of the Society said “We are concerned that, despite the fact that our members are unwilling to provide these services, this may be mandated if it becomes law in Quebec.” [CSPCP statement]

Canadian hospice association rejects participation in euthanasia

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association has lauded recommendations for the improvement of palliative care contained in a report from the Quebec Comission on Dying with Dignity.  However, it states that euthanasia and assisted suicide should not be part of palliative or hospice care, and that hospice and palliative care workers should not be expected to participate in such practices if they are legalized. [News Release]