Doctors say palliative care is being shortchanged
Posted June 16, 2013 8:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A new bill that will give people in Quebec the right to ask for medical help to die is concerning a group of medical specialists.
If passed, Quebec’s Bill 52 would be the first assisted suicide law in Canada.
The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians wound up a national convention in Vancouver by calling for better end-of-life care in the country.
The society’s Dr. Doris Barwich says the debate over the bill is highlighting this country’s palliative care system’s shortcomings.
“Only 15 to 30 per cent of Canadians have access to palliative care services. This is quite dangerous because Canadians have a right to expect good compassionate care.”
Plus she points out, 10 of 17 medical schools in Canada devote only a few hours of instruction around end-of-life care.
“So it feels we’ve got a perfect storm. There’s not much education for physicians and not much access to palliative care services for patients where ever they may live.”
She says governments and med schools have to make palliative care a bigger priority.
In her 20 years specializing in palliative care, Barwich says she’s learned the terminally ill find new meaning in their lives.
She believes if doctors can help patients deal with their pain and fears, there would be little demand for assisted suicide.
