Adults with cancer who have a prognosis of less than three months and live in urban areas are most likely to receive palliative care. And for the rest of us? Those who have a non-cancerous disease? Those without a clear lifespan prognosis? Those who live in a rural or remote area?
Currently, access to palliative care is a matter of luck. An opportunity that Mrs. Andrée Simard, widow of former Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa, did not have and should have had. The effects of the lack of appropriate and compassionate care are not only evident in the quality of life of Ms. Simard’s final days, but they are unmistakable in the grief, anger and suffering her daughter was able to share and denounce in her letter. open.
Palliative care, when available and practiced with compassion, not only benefits the sick and suffering person; They also alleviate the suffering of their loved ones during their grief. How many stories like Michelle Bourassa’s do we need to hear before we act? And rest assured, such heartbreaking stories are not uncommon.
lack of resources
The worst part of this whole affair is that those who work in palliative care are not at all surprised by the events leading up to Ms Simard’s death. Families across the country experience this excruciating pain every day because our healthcare system is unable to provide timely palliative care to everyone. How much longer will we tolerate this inadequate system?
Thousands of people are suffering needlessly because we lack the resources to provide comprehensive palliative care to those in need when they need it. It is an unforgivable failure in a country committed to universal health care.
There are approximately 300,000 deaths in Canada annually. About 90% (or 270,000) of them die from a chronic medical condition. Palliative care could not only alleviate the physical suffering of these people during their illness, but also provide them with emotional, social and spiritual support. The lack of adequately trained palliative care staff and lack of financial resources impede our ability to provide this much-needed care.
Aging population
It is not known how many people seek palliative care each year in Canada. This statistic does not exist. There are many reasons why measurement in the Canadian context is currently almost impossible and would require government action. But think about it, is there any other medical discipline where it would be okay not knowing how many people are receiving their treatment each year? How can we know how many people need palliative care but don’t have access to it when we don’t even know how many use it?
With an aging population, the need for palliative care will continue to grow. Yet our healthcare systems across the country are already unable to meet current needs. Fundamental changes to our approach to palliative care are essential. We must establish pan-Canadian data standards for palliative care, prioritize federal and provincial investment in palliative care, and provide undergraduate palliative care education for all medical, nursing, and social work students.
It is not a matter of time before palliative care becomes accessible to all, it is a matter of action.
Photo courtesy of David Brown
Laurel Gillespie, President and CEO, Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association