Mother received MAiD in secret, family only found out after death

A recent study following the loved ones of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) patients revealed the program has "poor coordination," which resulted in one participant discovering their mother was euthanized — after the fact.The study done by University of Alberta researchers, conducted interviews with friends and family of 35 MAiD patients from across Canada about their experiences with their loved ones receiving MAiD. They were asked to provide recommendations on how to improve MAiD based on these experiences.One anonymous participant recounts receiving a call from their mother's family doctor — whom they had never met — informing them their mother had been euthanized. .In shock, the participant recounts they were in denial, telling the doctor they had "called the wrong person."They reasoned that although their mother didn't need their consent, her next of kin should at least be aware of their mother's plan to die — and have a discussion with her first. "We look at the Hippocratic Oath of 'first, do no harm.' Well, you’re harming. I’ve been harmed by this. I’ve been harmed greatly by this," stated the participant.The participant says their life has been horribly impacted by the revelation of their mother's death — an unnecessary consequence that could have been avoided if they had just known about their mother's plan to receive MAiD. ."I could have talked to her, held her hand, and hugged her one last time, and I’m not saying I could have talked her out of it, but at least there could have been some involvement," said the participant."…Because I would have had a lot of suggestions, and I would have been very involved in helping. If there was something that we could have done together, me and my mom and the healthcare system, I would have done it."The study remarks that some other participants also experienced a similar lack of information being provided to them about their family member's wish to receive MAiD. They also claimed to be missing guidance on how the MAiD process works, including expectations, planning, and possible unexpected outcomes of MAiD. .Another concern some family members had was the "unclear eligibility criteria."One participant said their loved one was assessed for MAiD under Track 2, where patients' deaths are not reasonably foreseeable.However, the MAiD patient then ended up being assessed under Track 1, where patients must have a grievous and irremediable medical condition which makes their deaths reasonably foreseeable.This raised concern for the loved one — who couldn't understand how the MAiD assessors could switch the patient's eligibility so easily. ."And then she [MAiD assessor] told us that he had been approved for an upgrade to Track 1, to die immediately, because he [MAiD patient] had an elevated white blood cell count and had skipped meals. And this made his death apparently foreseeable, " stated the loved one."He [MAiD patient] didn’t want to get the white blood cell count checked, so he decided it was probably an infection. It was left untreated."The loved one detailed the patient showed no signs of being unbearably ill, despite the lack of treatment, nor signs of skipping many meals."... but he was showing to us no obvious signs of like he wasn’t fevered, or anything else like that," stated the loved one.."He was happy to drink a lot of alcohol. He was still having meals delivered to his room.""I’ve got a picture with — he’s got a whole pile of pop and a wine bottle and a bunch of stuff on his bedside table that he was drinking. So, he was getting calories."Many participants were concerned about the accuracy and comprehensiveness of MAiD assessments.Some participants worried over the ability to conduct in-depth assessments not in-person — meaning some assessments approved people for MAiD over voice or video calls..Others were concerned mental illness was not being fully assessed as a factor influencing the patient's decision for MAiD.Overall, the study recounts patients' decisions to receive MAiD were influenced most prominently by unbearable symptoms, like shortness of breath, loss of autonomy and control, fear of future suffering, and system barriers to care, like long wait times and delayed diagnosis. The study recommends an oversight mechanism be created for precise assessments of Track 1 and 2 of MAiD to "improve safeguards for vulnerable individuals."It also calls for a centralized multidisciplinary MAiD team, that specializes in MAiD care.

Mother received MAiD in secret, family only found out after death

Related Stories