The Fraser Health Authority’s deadline for the Delta Hospice Society to agree to allow medical assistance in dying (MAiD) at the Irene Thomas Hospice in Ladner comes tomorrow (Monday).
At stake could be over $1.4 million in annual operating funding from the region, which has stated that it expects the society to abide by its contract.
The leadership of the society says it never agreed to medically assisted suicides when it signed its contract years ago.
It’s been a turbulent few months for Delta Hospice and its future is now unclear as the current board of directors remains opposed to MAiD being provided at the local hospice.
Noting the service is available elsewhere, including next door at Delta Hospital, the board points out medically assisted deaths are not part of the society’s mandate or constitution, and that the procedure is at odds the philosophy and approach of hospice palliative care.
Those who support MAiD being offered at the hospice say it should be considered as a part of the continuum of care at Irene Thomas Hospice and patients should have the right to choose.
In a news release a couple of weeks ago to the Canadian Christian News Service, Delta Hospice Society board president Angelina Ireland noted they have asked the government to reconsider the society’s proposal to give up $750,000 in annual funding so that it not be required to violate its mandate.
The society raised all of the $8.5 million to build the hospice and the adjacent centre for supportive care, leasing the land from the FHA
By forfeiting the government funding, the hospice would be under the 50 per cent threshold set by the government and therefore exempt from providing MAiD, according to Ireland.
She said in order to comply with the FHA’s instruction, it would have to violate its legal commitments under the province’s Societies’ Act, which requires them to follow their charter.
The DHS is not in breach of the agreement, and there is nothing in the agreement which requires DHS to provide MAiD or allow it to be provided on its premises, she stated.
There’s been no indication the FHA will accept her offer.
If it does, and the society forgoes $750,000 in funding, Ireland stated the society’s focus would be exclusively on hospice operations, and that other services would be put on hold until alternative funding partnerships can be established.
The new board of the society had been on a collision course with the health region after reversing a decision by the previous society board to allow MAiD.
The region stated that it “reached out again to the Delta Hospice Society to share our expectations that they comply to permit Medical Assistance in Dying by February 3, 2020.”
After the previous board voted to allow MAiD, then board chair Jim Levin issued a letter to membership stating that it was a difficult decision.
After speaking with palliative care physicians and experts, the decision was made based on the fact that MAiD is written into Canadian law and is widely accepted in hospice facilities across B.C., he said, adding that to not allow MAiD also brings potential human rights violations.
In July 2016, the federal government passed legislation permitting medical assistance in dying.
Fraser Health approved its policy later that year that mandates hospices provide the procedure.
Following a heated annual general meeting late last year that saw the makeup and shift of power of the board change, the new board reversed the decision made a week prior by the previous board.
Dying with Dignity Canada said Delta Hospice should be forced to abide by Fraser Health policy that MAiD be provided in all non-faith-based facilities under its jurisdiction.
“People who request MAiD are some of the frailest, most physically compromised people in our health care system. They should not have to leave the comfort and security of their hospice beds in order to access their right to a peaceful, assisted death,” said Vancouver chapter co-chair Alex Muir.
The organization says Delta Hospice should put the rights and interests of patients first.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said the society could be facing funding “consequences” over not providing the procedure.
Saying the society board was hijacked by a small group trying to impose their religious views, members of the society opposed to the Ireland camp have started a letter writing campaign to Dix.
They also note that adults suffering greatly from a grievous and irremediable illness or medical conditions should have the right to die on their own terms.
