The Province has provided $7.125 million to create new hospice beds in communities around British Columbia, make improvements to current spaces, and support best practices in the palliative approach to care as well as advance care planning, working through the BC Centre for Palliative Care.
“We strongly believe that patients need to be well supported with compassionate care when they are planning for their future health-care needs or nearing the end of their life’s journey due to an advanced illness,” said Health Minister Terry Lake. “The announcement of these new hospice beds and supports will improve access to palliative services, as well as bring us closer to our goal of doubling the number of hospice beds in B.C. by 2020.”
The BC Centre for Palliative Care, in partnership with local hospice organizations, hospital foundations and health authorities, distributed funding totalling $3.67 million toward 47 new hospice beds in 13 communities throughout British Columbia. All the new beds are expected to be in place by 2019.
Another $1.33 million is being used for hospice space improvements and seed grants for local hospice societies, as well as programs that will support patients and families. The seed grants are partnerships between the BC Centre for Palliative Care and the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association.
As well, $2.125 million is supporting the BC Centre for Palliative Care’s work in advance care planning, education and community engagement to facilitate integration of a palliative approach to care throughout British Columbia. Advance care planning is the process of thinking about and planning for future health care. It involves talking to family and friends, health-care providers and at times financial or legal professionals about a person’s values, beliefs and wishes if they become incapable of consenting to or refusing treatment.
The centre is using the funding to develop tools and resources that will raise public awareness of the importance of advance care planning, and education for health professionals about goals of care conversations for all those living with serious illness as well as system level supports for implementation of a palliative approach to care.
“We know that more, better and earlier integration of a palliative approach to care will lead to improved outcomes and better quality of care for British Columbians,” said BC Centre for Palliative Care executive director Dr. Doris Barwich. “A palliative approach to care focuses on the person and their family, their needs and their goals of care from time of diagnosis. Our goal is to support early integration of this approach in every setting of care in B.C. As a provincial organization, we work to ensure all British Columbians living with serious illness have equitable access to innovative, compassionate quality care and resources. The Province’s investment will help us build important partnerships with everyone who is working to improve access to palliative-care resources and supports in their communities,” Barwich added.
The Ministry of Health and health authorities collaborated with the BC Centre for Palliative Care to determine how the funds would be allocated by studying B.C.’s palliative population data to determine characteristics such as age, underlying cause of death and geography. Current bed-to-population ratios and home-based palliative services also were looked at, as well as projections of future demand.
The Province provided the funding to the Institute for Health System Transformation and Sustainability (IHSTS). The BC Centre for Palliative Care was established in 2013 by IHSTS to support palliative and end-of-life care practices based on evidence, education and innovation to improve care and support for those living with and dying from serious illness and their families.
Learn More:
To learn more about supports offered by the Province for end-of-life care, visit:
www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/home-community-care/care-options-and-cost/end-of-life-care
More information on the BC Centre for Palliative Care: www.bc-cpc.ca
To learn more about My Voice, a provincial guide for advance care planning, visit:
www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/2013/MyVoice-AdvanceCarePlanningGuide.pdf