The End of Life Care Plan is intended as a guide for health care providers to plan and  meet the needs of the dying, their families and caregivers.

IN addition to the plan, financial support was provided to a number of hospices in the lower mainland and money was committed to the development of a Center for Excellence in Palliative Care.  The center is to focus on  research, education, information management, and policy and clinical care.

Carolyn Tayler (director of End of Life Care for Fraser Health) stressed the importance of “early identification of people who would benefit from a care approach that focuses on their quality of life to identify and address their care goals.”

Given all the push for integrating a palliative approach for people with all life threatening illnesses, earlier in the disease process, across all settings of care… it was disappointing that the funds did not provide support to strengthen palliative care in other settings than the hospice setting.