Adults with cancer, who have a prognosis of less than three months and who live in urban areas, are most likely to be able to obtain palliative care. And for the others among 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. A chance that Mme Andrée Simard, the widow of former Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa, did not have and should have had. The repercussions of the lack of appropriate and compassionate care are not only clear in the quality of life of Ms.me Simard, but they are also unmistakable in the mourning, anger and suffering that his daughter was able to share and denounce in her open letter.
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 mourning. How many stories like the one Michelle Bourassa shared will we need to hear before we take action? And rest assured, such heartbreaking tales are not uncommon.
Lack of resources
The worst thing about this whole affair is that those who work in the palliative care sector are not at all surprised by the events preceding the death of Ms.me Simard. Families across the country experience this excruciating pain every day because our health care system is not equipped to provide timely palliative care to every person. How much longer are we going to tolerate this inadequate system?
Thousands of people are suffering needlessly because we lack the resources to be able to provide comprehensive palliative care to those who need it, when they need it. It is an inexcusable failure in a country that advocates a universal health care system.
Annually, there are approximately 300,000 deaths in Canada. Approximately 90% (or 270,000) of them die from a chronic health condition. Palliative care could not only alleviate the physical suffering of these people throughout their illness, but also offer them emotional, social and spiritual support. The lack of adequately trained palliative care staff and the lack of financial resources impede our ability to provide this much-needed care.
Ageing population
It is not known how many people access palliative care in Canada each year. This statistic does not exist. The reasons why it is currently almost impossible to measure in the Canadian context are multiple and would require government action. But think about it, is there any other medical discipline where it would be okay not to know how many people receive their care each year? How can we know how many people need palliative care but are unable to access it, if we don’t even know how many are accessing it?
With an aging population, the need for palliative care will only grow. Yet our health systems across the country are already unable to meet current needs. Major 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 core palliative care education for all medical, nursing and social work students. .
It’s not a question of time before palliative care becomes accessible to all, it’s a question of action.
Photo courtesy David Brown
Laurel Gillespie, President and CEO, Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association