Health Canada launches consultations on palliative care framework

Online consultations open for 68 days

OTTAWA, May 7, 2018 /CNW/ - Many Canadians with life-threatening illnesses wish to remain independent and receive the care they need in the setting of their choice. Improving access to palliative care in a variety of settings, including at home, is critical to making this happen.

Today, Health Canada launched a public consultation on a framework for palliative care in Canada. A framework will help support improved access to palliative care and will provide a useful reference point across jurisdictions to help identify opportunities, address gaps, and share promising practices. Canadians and interested stakeholders are invited to share their views online until July 13, 2018.

This consultation complements the leadership role taken by the federal government in engaging with provinces and territories through the Common Statement of Principles on Shared Health Priorities and its commitment to improve access to home, community, and palliative care by providing $6 billion over 10 years to support these goals. Improved access to home, community and palliative care will help to reduce the number of patients in hospital who would prefer to be supported and cared for at home.

In the coming months, the federal government will consult directly with provinces, territories, palliative care providers, people living with illness, caregivers, and other expert stakeholders. The comments received during these consultations will help inform the development of the framework for palliative care, which will be tabled in Parliament by December 13, 2018.

The Government of Canada looks forward to working cooperatively with provincial and territorial governments and stakeholders at all levels to help support improvements in the quality and availability of palliative care for Canadians.

Quotes

"Canadians who need palliative care should have access to these services when they need them, in the setting of their choice. We look forward to hearing views from across the country as we develop a framework that will help support improved access to palliative care in Canada."

The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor
Minister of Health

Quick Facts

• Through Budget 2017, the Government of Canada committed targeted funding of $6 billion over 10 years to provinces and territories to improve access to home care services, including palliative care. The Government of Canada continues to work with individual jurisdictions to develop and finalize bilateral agreements. These agreements set out details of ?how this targeted federal funding for home care?including palliative care?will be invested in each jurisdiction.
• Provinces and territories have committed to working with the Canadian Institute for Health Information to develop a focused set of common indicators to measure progress and to report to Canadians on overall improvements in access to home and community care, including palliative care.
• Targeted federal investments continue to help improve palliative care in a number of areas, including identifying national best practices, building research capacity, and providing supports for caregivers. For example, federal funding was announced on February 12, 2018, that will enable Pallium Canada to build on the success of its Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) program and increase the capacity of health care providers to deliver palliative care in communities across the country.

Associated Links
Palliative care
Framework on Palliative Care in Canada Act 
Participate in the consultation

SOURCE Health Canada