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Second Annual MLA Breakfast 2008
Held on February 14th, 2008
at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, BC
The purpose of this breakfast meeting was simple and genuine. It was to inform our MLA’s of our activities and let them know that we are working hard to build a hospice palliative care community and to provide leadership at all levels. We wanted our MLA’s to know about ways the provincial government can help us lead BC towards our core values: excellence, collaboration, accountability, integrity and diversity. In short, this breakfast meeting was about establishing and strengthening our relationship with our provincial elected officials.
BCHPCA Board and Staff Members who attended:
- Wendy Pratt
- Vera Webb
- Nancy Kilpatrick
- Terri Odeneal
- Rob Appleton
- Adam Flint
- Jody Smiling
Program Members who attended:
- Cowichan Valley Hospice Society
- Surrey Hospice
- Port Alberni Hospice
- Crossroads Hospice
- Nanaimo Hospice
- Comox Valley Hospice
- Canuck Place Childrens Hospice
- Pacific Rim Hospice Society
- Prince George Hospice Society
- Sooke Hospice
- Victoria Hospice Society
- Central Okanagan Hospice
- Oceanside Hospice
- Campbell River Hospice Society
MLA's Confirmed included:
- Minister Rick Thorpe, MLA Okanagan-Westside
- Minister Ida Chong, MLA Oak Bay-Gordon Head
- Minister Claude Richmond, MLA Kamloops
- Minister Linda Reid, MLA Richmond East
- Minister George Abbott, MLA Shuswap
- Minister John Van Dongen, MLA Abbotsford-Clayburn
- Minister Richard Neufeld, MLA
Peace River North
- Minister Gordon Hogg, MLA
Surrey-White Rock
- Austin, Robin, MLA Skeena
- Black, Iain, MLA
Port Moody-Westwood
- Cantelon, Ron, MLA Nanaimo-Parksville
- Conroy, Katrine, MLA West Kootenay-Boundary
- Dix, Adrian, MLA Vancouver-Kingsway
- Evans, Corky, MLA Nelson-Creston
- Farnworth, Mike, MLA Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain
- Fraser, Scott, MLA Alberni-Qualicum
- Gentner, Guy, MLA Delta North
- Horgan, John, MLA Malahat-Juan de Fuca
- Horning, Al, MLA
Kelowna-Lake Country
- Jarvis, Dan, MLA North Vancouver-Seymour
- Karagianis, Maurine, MLA Esquimalt-Metchosin
- Krog, Leonard, MLA Nanaimo
- Lee, Richard, MLA Burnaby North
- Lekstrom, Blair, MLA
Peace River South
- Macdonald, Norm, MLA Columbia River-Revelstoke
- Mayencourt, Lorne, MLA Vancouver-Burrard
- McIntyre, Joan, MLA West Vancouver-Garibaldi
- Ralston, Bruce, MLA Surrey-Whalley
- Roddick, Val, MLA Delta South
- Routley, Doug, MLA Cowichan-Ladysmith
- Rustad, John, MLA Prince George-Omineca
- Sather, Michael, MLA Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
- Simons, Nicholas, MLA Powell River-Sunshine Coast
- Simpson, Bob, MLA Cariboo North
- Simpson, Shane, MLA Vancouver-Hastings
- Sultan, Ralph, MLA West Vancouver-Capilano
- Thorne, Diane, MLA Coquitlam-Mailardville
- Wyse, Charlie, MLA Cariboo South
Coalition Guests:
Advance Care Planning & Bill 32
Members of BC Hospice Palliative Care Association have daily contact with BC citizens experiencing end-of-life challenges. On behalf of these individuals, their families and support networks, BCHPCA is acting to support advance directive legislation that will uphold personal choice and freedom.
Documents related to this activity are available for download:
Still Not There ~ A Call to Action
 Download Still Not There ~ A Call to Action
Prepared by the BCHPCA Board of Directors, December 2005
Personal Planning Instruments:
A Call to Action and Change in British Columbia
Submission to the:
Strategic Planning and Legislation Office
Ministry of Attorney General
P.O. Box 9283 Stn. Provincial Government
Victoria, B.C. V8W 9J7
by:
BC Hospice Palliative Care Association
January 26, 2006
The British Columbia Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) is an umbrella organization whose purpose is to ensure the quality of life for all British Columbians affected by life limiting illness, death, and bereavement. BCHPCA serves 300 individual members and 100 member programs in BC and the Yukon by building and supporting the capacity of the hospice and palliative care community and providing leadership and advocacy at all levels as the collective voice of hospice palliative care in BC.
Our members provide a broad range of services that include both professional and volunteer components such as medical symptom management, spiritual care, volunteer and bereavement support, psychological counseling, pharmacy and nursing care. A BCHPCA Board member sits on the Board of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA), which is the national association for hospice palliative care in Canada. CHPCA offers leadership in the pursuit of excellence in care for persons approaching death so that the burden of suffering, loneliness and grief is lessened.
BCHPCA welcomes the opportunity to respond to the proposals developed by the office of the Attorney General to expand the options and strengthen tools to allow British Columbians to plan for future health care decisions.
The current use of proxy directives under the Representation Agreement Act (RAA) does not meet the needs of capable persons in BC. Completing an advanced directive under the RAA (Section 9) creates barriers for many citizens in the form of a mandatory legal consultation, multiple witnessing and is particularly difficult to complete for patients and families in times of crisis and hospitalization. Any advance directive policies and procedures developed should be accessible, easy to understand and execute, and should not incur a cost on the part of the individual developing the advance directive. Few people in BC have a Representation Agreement since it was not designed for the capable adult and is onerous, expensive, and confusing to both the public and health care providers.
In the BC Ministry of Health Discussion Paper on a Provincial Strategy for End of Life Care in BC (2002) the paper noted that British Columbians needed to be more aware of treatment options and choices and that there should be: development of a provincial best practices approach to advance care planning, including clarification of roles, processes and legal concerns.
Advance care planning is identified as an issue in the Senate reports Of Life and Death (1995) and Quality End of Life Care: The Right of Every Canadian (2000) and in Health Canada’s National Action Workshop on End of Life Care, Final Report (2002). These reports recommend the development of strategies, communication, and planning tools, to ensure health care providers consult patients on goals of care and treatment decisions at end of life.
The Public Information and Awareness Working Group of Health Canada’s Secretariat on Palliative and End of Life Care is working to develop an action plan that will lead to systemic change to ensure that Advance Care Planning (ACP) is integrated into Canada’s legal, medical and social systems.
Each year the BCHPCA holds its annual general meeting and in May 2004 the following resolution was passed:
Whereas the Senate has proclaimed every Canadian’s right to quality end of life care (Carstairs Report to the Senate on End of Life Care, 2000),
and Whereas, Canadians have declared their desire to plan for end of life care (Ipsos Reid 2004),
Be it resolved that BCHPCA advocate for a consistent, province-wide initiative that ensures British Columbians are informed of, and have access to the information and tools to plan for quality end of life care.
Therefore the position of our organization is that we strongly endorse and applaud the proposal that new legislation be introduced around advance care planning.
It is four years later and it is time to see progress on this recommendation. On behalf of hospice palliative programs in this province we urge the Attorney General’s office to move ahead with this proposed legislation and we would be pleased to take part in any development or implementation groups that would facilitate its advancement.
References
British Columbia Ministry of Health Services (2002) Discussion Paper End of Life Strategy. Victoria, BC: Government of British Columbia
Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (2005). Submission to the 5 Year Report of the Senate Subcommittee Final Report: Quality End of Life care: The Right of Every Canadian. Ottawa: Author
Canadian Strategy on Palliative and End of Life Care (2005) Advance Care Planning – An Environmental Scan, Author Barry Ashpole, Health Canada Ottawa
Ipso Reid (2004). Hospice Palliative Care Survey, Final Report
Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science & Technology.
(1995). Of Life and Death Ottawa, Ontario: Government of Canada
Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science & Technology. (2000). Quality end of life care: The right of every Canadian. Ottawa, Ontario: Government of Canada |
BCHPCA NEWS
Mar 24th, 2008
BCHPCA Program Updates
Reminder to BCHPCA members: If you offer program services as a member of BC Hospice update your listing now. This information is widely used and provides to the community the range of programs and services offered in your organization. Read More »
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Mar 24th, 2008
Access to Member Centre
Here's the information you need for access to the Member Centre. Read More »
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