A ten-bed palliative hospice in Delta, B.C. has two choices: allow euthanasia or give up government funding..The Irene Thomas Hospice has been embroiled in months of controversy after its opposition to euthanasia was challenged. Under directives of the provincial government and the Fraser Health Authority, the hospice has been given until Feb. 3 to make its intentions known. But many believe it’s not a choice any palliative care facility should have to make..“The hospice palliative care and euthanasia are diametrically opposed medical disciplines,” says Angelina Ireland, president of the Delta Hospice Society which runs the hospice..“They are two separate lanes. They do not cross. One is not among the basket of options of the end of life care.”.Ireland said that complying with the Fraser Health Authority’s directive would force it to violate its legal commitments under the province’s Societies’ Act which requires them to follow their charter. She notes that medical assistance in dying (MAiD) is available in other locations, including a facility next door to the hospice..“Nobody wanting such a service would be prevented access,” Ireland said..“The issue is not accessibility. It seems to be a purely agenda-driven demand that runs rough shod over both Delta Hospice Society’s desire to live up to its legal requirements under our Charter, as well as ignoring the reality that we are dealing with patients and families in a very vulnerable and delicate position.”.When contacted by the Western Standard Dixon Tam, Fraser Health’s senior consultant for public affairs, issued the following statement: “We understand this is a very difficult and emotional issue for people, however, we have to remember that at the heart of all of this is the patient and their right to choose. Our position has been, and continues to be, that we support the patient’s right to receive MAiD wherever they may be, including in a hospice setting..A letter from Fraser Health VP Norm Peters dated Dec. 23 informed the society it would be considered in breach of contract unless it agreed by Feb. 3 to provide MAiD..The society countered with a compromise. Under provincial policy, any contracted organization that gets funding for more than 50 percent of its beds must allow MAiD to be assessed and provided at the place where end-of-life services are normally offered..On Jan. 15, the society told Fraser Health it was willing to forfeit $750,000 in provincial funding to get under the 50 per cent threshold. The society would fundraise to make up the funding shortfall..Euthanasia was not even legal in Canada until 2016, but was allowed for the terminally ill following the Carter decision in the Supreme Court of Canada. Later that year, the Fraser Health Authority mandated that hospices provide the procedure..Nancy Macey, the executive director and founder of the hospice in 1991, was opposed to providing the procedure on site. In September of 2019, the Delta Hospice Society board fired her and voted to allow medical assistance in dying (MAID) at the hospice..Supporters of Macey started a membership drive that swelled the society’s numbers to over 600 from fewer than 200. A raucous meeting in November housed more than 300 attendees. The result was a new slate of directors that reversed the board’s decision to allow euthanasia..In a recent statement, Conservative MP Tamara Jansen, who represents Cloverdale-Langley City, spoke in defense of the Delta hospice..“I am very disappointed that the NDP government is threatening to shut down the Irene Thomas Hospice (ITH), unless medical staff are willing to betray their deeply-held personal beliefs and participate in the taking of patient lives through MAiD [medical assistance in dying],” Jansen said in a statement..Ireland said: “I have had tremendous support . . . not only from hospice palliative physicians, but physicians from all of all over this country that are sticking up for the kind of work that we do.”.The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians and the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association issued a joint statement last November that said, “Less than 30% of Canadians have access to high quality hospice palliative care, yet more than 90% of all deaths in Canada would benefit from it. . . deaths from MAiD account for less than 1.5% of all deaths in Canada.”.Ireland wishes it was euthanasia centres that had to fundraise, not palliative care centers..“If people want to have a MAiD centre, then they should do the kinds of things that we did. We fundraised, we opened up a facility with private money. That’s probably what they should do. The two things should be able to operate in the same world,” Ireland said..“We’re not trying to argue with people that want to have MAiD. That’s just not a service that we provide or that we are able to provide.”.Last December, Health Minister Adrian Dix said providing euthanasia was a necessary prerequisite for public funding. .“Of course, we do live in a free society,” Dix said..“Delta Hospice Society can decide that it doesn’t want to continue to receive support from the Fraser Health Authority in its mission. They can choose to do that. You can absolutely have it your way. But you can’t have it both ways.”
