NEWS RELEASE
ROYAL VICTORIA REGIONAL HEALTH CENTRE
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Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) is seeking feedback from the community to help develop its policy regarding the proposed Bill C-14, which supports medically-assisted dying, where a physician or nurse practitioner provides or administers medication to intentionally bring about a patient’s death, at the request of the patient.
The health centre has launched a survey to gather feedback from the community to help shape its plan for compassionate end-of-life care. It can be found on the engagement page of RVH’s website available here.
“Bill C-14 impacts RVH because we need to have a comprehensive plan regarding compassionate end-of-life care in light of this new legislation,” says Dr. Chris Tebbutt, vice president, Medical Affairs & Quality, RVH. “At RVH, we are committed to fulfilling our commitment to patients and respecting their unique needs as part of our MY CARE philosophy. We have created a multi-disciplinary committee to help us develop the plan, but we welcome feedback from the public as an important part of our discussion. Our policy will clearly outline the process for patients and caregivers, while respecting the opinions of everyone involved.”
Members of Parliament are currently debating the new Bill C-14, which if passed, will become law on June 6, 2016. The new legislation outlines specific criteria for Medical Assistance in Dying (MedAID).
The patient must be at least 18 years, a consenting adult with a serious and incurable disease, illness or disability who is suffering intolerably, in an advanced state of irreversible decline and for whom death is reasonably foreseeable.
The new legislation would not compel anyone to provide assistance in dying and the federal government will work with the provinces to connect patients with doctors and nurse practitioners who are willing to participate in medically-assisted dying.
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