An open letter to the B.C. Government, Hospice Societies and Fraser Health chairman Jim Sinclair.
I refer to the article in the Peace Arch News, Assisted deaths divide hospices, Feb. 16.
The last paragraph of the lengthy article is not complete. According to it “The province defines palliative care as specialized medical care for people with serious illness. Care can be provided wherever the client is living, whether at home, in hospice, an assisted living residence or a residential care facility, according to the province.”
The statement provided on the government website does more than that; it is headed “End of Life Care” and talks about providing care for the dying, although it does include a paragraph about providing care for serious illness.
I ask all to consider the following definitions of palliative and palliative care:
“Palliative” is anything used to alleviate pain, anxiety, etc. without eliminating its source.
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary published in 2004 includes a definition of “palliative care” as “medical care provided for the terminally ill.”
There are a very limited number of available rooms even in the new Peace Arch Hospice. Let’s use them for those truly in need within the bounds of the true understanding of palliative care.
I speak from personal experience having spent the last few days of his life with my husband in White Rock Hospice.
The care both he and I received 24 hours a day and followup grief assistance for me was invaluable.
Alison Smith, Surrey