The president of the Delta Hospice Society has given up hope for a new facility and is setting up a “guardian angels” plan to help vulnerable patients from medically-assisted deaths..The BC government took over the 10-bed hospice of DHS after it refused to provide medical assistance in dying (MAiD) available onsite. In an interview with the Western Standard, DHS president Angelina Ireland said there was no compensation..“They canceled our 35-year lease with 25 years left on it. They expropriated our buildings worth eight and-a-half million dollars. We've never seen a red cent from anything,” she said..“They've pretty much tried to destroy us. So it's really far more than just somebody's medical choice. This is a movement that has gained considerable power because it has all of the administration, the government, the courts behind it.”.Initial hopes to build a new privately-run facility were dashed when the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear Dr. Brian Day’s legal challenge to the ban on private health care in BC. .“We see this as not even being an option in the near future. So, we're not going to take people's money until we know that we have a chance of having any kind of institution or facility that's independent of the government,” Ireland said..The former People’s Party candidate added “people have just fallen over to comply with Bill 36,” and the government grip on health care has tightened..“It's not enough that the government has a monopoly on the patient. Now, they want a monopoly on every health organization, every physician’s college. It’s all got to be run by the government now,” Ireland said..“The only way we can protect each other is by a grassroots organization, with real people going out into the field to protect their brothers and their sisters.”.While the Quebec and federal governments have pushed advance directives to authorize euthanasia, the Delta Hospice Society has prepared forms so people can clarify in advance they do not want to be euthanized. They are also launching a “guardian angel” program of trained volunteers to prevent patients from being coerced into MAiD..“You can't let your loved one go into the medical system alone. You need a buddy system right now because one of the first things they want to do is offer the person MAiD,” Ireland said..“I know that sounds a little extreme, but our experience is they would rather MAiD you than care for you. So our program is volunteer-based, where we train our volunteers to be health advocates, to be matched with patients or people in the system that want an advocate with them. And they will help them to get care and not MAiD.”.The DHS president said the society has a nurse in the guardian angels program to help offer advice. Ireland said the need for the program was reinforced when her 89-year-old mother fell ill. She was refused admittance to hospital twice and sent home..“When they finally did admit her, the first person she had visit her was somebody to offer MAiD. So without that health advocate person there saying no, this person requires a certain amount of care, they didn't really want to help,” Ireland said..“As soon as she was admitted, they put her on intravenous antibiotics immediately. They bumped her for surgery twice. So, she finally got surgery, and now my mom is home and she's recovering.”.Ireland said the law requires that patients request MAiD before they are spoken to about it, but that’s not what’s happening..“There's never been one MAiD inquiry, never been one investigation, or all the thousands of MAiD deaths that we've seen here in British Columbia. And we know that people are being coerced, they're being pressured into accepting this. Dead people tell no tales,” she said..“We just want to ensure that people are able to access the health care they pay for their entire lives as law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.”
