With the rapid expansion of Medical Aid in Dying under way, many palliative care providers are concerned not only about what this means for their own continued operations, but also for palliative care’s long term survivability in Canada.
Writing in Convivium, Peter Stockland examines the conflicts arising between a national movement pushing to implement MAiD as integral to end of life care and the providers who are seeking to establish clear distinctions between the two.
Reporting on what this means for providers, for doctors, and for Canadians seeking to access such care, he highlights that palliative care training for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students is notably absent in many medical schools across Canada. Providers worry that this will contribute to MAid simply subsuming palliative care, and, ultimately, providing fewer options for Canadians and lessening the ability for the medical system to meet their end of life needs.
Stockland quotes Dr. Anne Boyle, an associate professor of family medicine at Hamilton’s McMaster University, who outlines the importance of training up doctors in this field:
“People need to be at the bedside with an understanding of how to provide this care. We know it is important, and that it makes good economic sense. It reduces costs for delivering care, it frees up scarce resources, and it improves quality of life and quality of care for patients with serious illness – and for their families.”
