The results of a pilot project to test improved ways to deliver palliative care indicate that 83 percent of participants want to spend their last days at home with timely access to palliative care services. However, the majority of people now die in hospital.
Palliative care is for anyone facing a life threatening illness. It provides physical, emotional and spiritual support for both individuals and their loved ones at home, in hospital, or in long-term care settings.
Health and Social Services Minister Jamie Ballem advised that the demand for palliative care is increasing as the population ages and as people live longer with end-stage illnesses such as cancer, ALS, and AIDS.
"The project has shown that the preferred setting for palliative care is home, and it has enabled us to test an effective made-in-PEI model to improve delivery of this service," said the minister. "Our challenge will now be to shift the needed resources from hospital care to home care, knowing that this is the preferred and most appropriate end-of-life care for patients and families."
The Rural Palliative Home Care Project, funded in part by Health Canada's Health Transition Fund, was implemented during the past year in the East Prince Health and Southern Kings Health Regions in PEI and the Northern Health Region in Nova Scotia. The findings of the project were presented today at a conference of health care providers and volunteers.
The keynote speaker at the conference was the Honourable Sharon Carstairs, Leader of the Government in the Senate with special responsibility for palliative care. Senator Carstairs has been recently appointed by the Prime Minister to assist and support the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that palliative care is meeting the needs of Canadian patients, families and caregivers.
As part of the pilot project, palliative care teams were developed in Southern Kings and East Prince to support patients and families in the home, hospital, or long-term care facility. Teams included specially trained palliative care nurses, physicians, and pharmacists working with home care, acute care and long-term care staff, family physicians, pastoral care, volunteers, and other health care providers. Teams met weekly to determine how to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of palliative care patients and families.
"An intensive education program was provided to the new palliative care resource teams and to front-line health care providers and volunteers," said Corinne Roswell, project coordinator. "This collaborative approach was identified by team members as pivotal to the success of the new palliative care program. Early referral to palliative care programs is essential to ensure timely intervention with counselling and health teaching."
The project findings indicated that clients were very satisfied with coordination of care, pain and symptom management and with the way tests and treatments were performed. Similarly, caregivers indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the care their loved ones received.
One of the objectives of the project was to identify barriers to palliative care services in rural communities. These included the need for 24-hour access to palliative care services; increased access to respite services, nurses, and family physicians for home visits; and financial assistance for medications, equipment, and supplies in the home. Family and caregivers indicated their greatest needs were to have questions answered, to be assured the best possible care is being provided, to know about treatments received by their loved ones and what symptoms to expect.
To contact the palliative care program in East Prince Health, call 902-432-2709, and in Southern Kings Health call 902-838-0950.