Last year, the B.C. Government forged an all-party committee to study how the province’s healthcare system can be improved. As part of its research, the Select Standing Committee on Health reached out to B.C. residents for input on a number of healthcare-related questions — including the future of end-of-life care in the province. Read here Dying with Dignity Canada’s Submission to B.C.’s Select Standing on Health.
In the submission, DWD Canada CEO Wanda Morris asked MPs to create a standing committee to focus on end-of-life care specifically.
“For British Columbia to effect necessary change in end-of-life care, we strongly recommend the establishment of a Select Committee to specifically address palliative care and physician-assisted dying,” she wrote.
DWD Canada’s submission proposes a five-tiered approach to palliative care: patient autonomy; patient-centred care; adequate pain and symptom control; universal access; and patient education and effective communication. It also urges that MLAs consider medically assisted dying as a future option for end-of-life care in B.C.
“Dying with Dignity Canada believes Canadians who are seriously ill and suffering unbearably should have more legal options than are currently allowed,” the executive summary reads. “We believe physician-assisted dying can occur within a framework that is approved, tried and tested by the medical community.”