SOS: National strategy for palliative and end-of-life care threatened

As comforting as it may seem to think quality end-of-life care is guaranteed in Canada, the reality is quite the opposite.

Since 2001 the Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care has been actively involved in the development of a National Strategy for Palliative and End-of-Life Care. CAPA is a member of the Quality of End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada (QELCCC) and has contributed to this important initiative. The five priority areas for quality end of life care include: Best Practices and Quality Care, Education for Formal Caregivers, Public Information and Awareness, Research, and Surveillance. Currently the Secretariat’s existence and by extension the QELCCC, is under threat.

In the May 2006 Federal Budget, The Honourable James M. Flaherty, Minister of Finance announced, “The President of the Treasury Board will identify savings of $1 billion in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.” While not specific about where these savings will take place, it is clear that all federal departments will be affected by this reduction in spending.

With regard to the ongoing development of a national strategy for end-of-life care, it is expected that the Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care (Health Canada) will see substantial budget reductions for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. In 2005-2006 the Secretariat was funded at the level of $1.7 million dollars. The continued national coordination and leadership provided by the Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care is essential as Canada moves forward to address the end-of-life care needs of all Canadians. A substantial cut in funding to the Secretariat will mean that many of the ongoing initiatives are at risk of being severely cut back or even eliminated.

The Canadian population is aging. Statistics Canada has reported that at present, 75% of the 225,000 Canadians who die each year are age 65 or over. In addition, Statistics Canada estimates that by the year 2020 there will be a 33% increase in the annual number of deaths in Canada. Currently only 15% of Canadians have access to high quality hospice palliative care. The federal government must take a leadership role in ensuring a long-term, adequately funded, comprehensive and sustainable National Strategy for Palliative and End-of-Life Care that will address the issues of services, resources, education, research, and support for patients and families.

Diana Rasmussen, QELCCC representative on the Coordinating Body of the National Strategy for Palliative and End-of-Life Care says that the federal government is not as committed as it once was to providing national leadership and coordination for a national strategy for palliative and end of life care. She says, “Canadians deserve better from their federal government.”

The QELCCC believes that all Canadians have the right to quality end-of-life care that allows them to die with dignity, free of pain, surrounded by their loved ones, in the setting of their choice. The Coalition believes that to achieve quality end-of-life care for all Canadians there must be a well funded, sustainable national strategy for palliative and end-of-life care. It is the mission of the QELCCC to work together in partnership to achieve this goal.

CAPA encourages its members to speak to their member of parliament and stress the importance of maintaining the current $1.7 million level of funding to the Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care and to commit to a long-term sustainable funding solution for the future.

Thank you to Sharon Baxter, Executive Director of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association for allowing the reprint of excerpts from the Quality of End-of-Life Care Coalition Press Release: Harper Government Cuts Funding for a National Strategy for Dying Canadians and their Caregivers, September 14, 2006. Editor