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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBy forfeiting the government funding, the hospice would be under the 50% threshold set by the government and therefore exempt from providing MAiD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Angelina Ireland, President of the Delta Hospice Society, said that the Society\u2019s Charter specifically mandates it to provide compassionate care and support for persons in the last stages of living, so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHelping and supporting patients to live fully and comfortably in \ntheir last days and giving support to them and their families is what \nour patients and families come to us for and expect and it is certainly \nwhat our staff are dedicated to providing. Taking steps to end a \npatient\u2019s life is not providing care and support so that \u2018they may live \nfully.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fraser Health Authority ordered the Delta Hospice Society late last \nyear to provide Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) claiming that failure\n to do so would be a breach of the Society\u2019s agreement with the \nauthority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland said in order to comply with the Authority\u2019s instruction it \nwould have to violate its legal commitments under the province\u2019s \nSocieties\u2019 Act which requires them to follow their Charter. Further, DHS\n is not in breach of the Agreement. There is nothing in the Agreement \nwhich requires DHS to provide MAiD or allow it to be provided on its \npremises. The FHA is attempting to amend the Agreement by making a \nunilateral decision to impose an obligation, which in itself would be a \ncontravention of the Agreement. The Fraser Health Authority\u2019s new \ndirective puts the Hospice Society in a difficult position of either \nhonouring their Charter and legal obligations or acceding to what she \ncalled \u201can agenda-driven demand which ignores ourprimary function and \npays no heed to the needs or wants of those patients and families we are\n caring for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Delta Hospice Society has tried to work with the health \nauthority, explaining the dilemma the order places upon them, outlining \ntheir function to assist patients live fully in their final days before \nnatural death, and offering options to help settle the dispute but the \nFraser Health Authority has refused to budge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On January 15, 2020, Delta Hospice Society wrote the Fraser Health \nAuthority to ask that they reconsider the proposal to give up the \n$750,000 a year in funding so that they may benefit from the exemption \nset out in a Ministry of Health policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland said that giving up the funding would cause the Society to focus exclusively on their Hospice operations. The other services the Society provides to the community would be put on the back burner until alternative funding partnerships can be established. The Society is committed to continuing to provide the quality care it has provided since its founding in 1991, and protecting the Society\u2019s mandate and organizational integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland noted further that there are many locations where MAiD is already available to those wishing to avail themselves of that option, including a facility next door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNobody wanting such a service would be prevented access. The issue \nis not accessibility. It seems to be a purely agenda-driven demand that \nruns rough shod over both Delta Hospice Society\u2019s desire to live up to \nits legal requirements under our Charter, as well as ignoring the \nreality that we are dealing with patients and families in a very \nvulnerable and delicate position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur goal,\u201d she added, \u201cis to fulfill our mission. And that is to help patients and their loved ones live quietly, comfortably, and as fully as possible in their final days of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She reiterated the hospice\u2019s desire to negotiate an equitable arrangement with the Fraser Health Authority to maintain Delta Hospice\u2019s role of serving its patients well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n