Facing the end of life, whether it is yours or that of someone you love, is an understatedly difficult time.
During such a time, it is imperative that everyone involved - from relatives to caregivers to patients - understand their rights and options, to avoid making things anymore stressful than necessary.
May 3-9 is National Hospice Palliative Care Week, a time to spread awareness and let everyone know the options that exist when death is near.
According to the Grande Prairie Hospice Palliative Care Society (GPHPCS), no more than 36% of Canadians who need hospice palliative care services have access to it, and those living in rural and remote areas have dramatically less access.
"It is alarming how many dying Canadians do not have access to quality end-of-life care," Dr. Larry Librach, president of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, said in a statement released to the media. "Hospice palliative care is a human right. We should all have access to health care when we need it. We should all have access to quality care from the beginning to the end of life."
National Hospice Palliative Care Week is all about educating the public and providing them with information about what exactly palliative care is and what it means, said Mike Frey, board member with the GPHPCS.
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"There is a need for it in most communities, though for the most part in Grande Prairie," he said.
Frey said this is the first chance the society has had to take part as a charitable organization; the society only attained charitable status last year.
"It's something relatively new in the local area, so it's something we're just getting into more and more," he said. "The society has only been active for about two years. There was a palliative care community within the QEII Hospital and we sort of formed the society and have taken over that role."
There are currently some palliative care beds on the fifth floor at the QEII, but Frey said they are pushing for more, and in non-institutional settings.
"Those are more for acute care, more so than normal palliative care," he said "Most people don't want to be in an institutional setting. It's just that some patients end up with pain management that can not be done at home or in a hospice-type setting."
Right now, the society is working with Alberta Health Services, with a goal of 10 new palliative care beds in the city.
"We're working towards getting hospice facilities within the city of Grande Prairie to get 10 new beds," he said.
"The focus is to get 10 beds built in some of the structures that are going to be developed with Alberta Health Services and start that, and if need be, we will develop more as the need arises. And again, the major focus is to have it in a non-institutional type setting."
It's important for everyone to know about palliative care, because the population is getting older, people are getting more frail as they age, and diseases become more prevalent, Frey said.
"Cancer is probably the most common of the end-of-life diseases," he said. "The younger people in hospices tend to mostly be cancer patients, and other patients tend to be seniors with illnesses like Parkinson's and dementia. We need a more home-like atmosphere. People would like to die at home, but it's not possible for everyone."
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