MAHC-Community-Health-Bulletin-Final

Qu Ce
Se
Medical assistance in dying at MAHC
A Change in
Practice
February 2015:
The Supreme Court of Canada, in a
case known as "the Carter Decision",
ruled it is not a criminal offence for physicians
to help someone end their life
in certain circumstances. The ruling
struck down the previous ban on assisted
death, judging it to be a violation
of the right to life, liberty and security of
the person. The court gave the federal
government a June 6, 2016 deadline to
enact a new law.
April 2016:
The federal government introduced Bill
C-14 (legislation supporting medicallyassisted
dying) where a physician or
nurse practitioner provides or administers
medication that intentionally brings
about a patient’s death, at the request
of the patient. The legislation, “for
adults who are suffering intolerably and
for whom death is reasonably foreseeable”,
requires the patient to be a consenting
adult, at least 18 years old, with
a serious and incurable disease, illness
or disability, and be in “an advanced
state of irreversible decline.”
June 6, 2016:
Medical assistance in dying became legal
in Canada.
June 17, 2016:
Bill C-14 receives Royal Assent after
passing through the House of Commons
and the Senate.
Medical assistance in dying is one
of a number of choices that can
be considered in end-of-life care
at Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare.
End-of-life care planning is very personal,
and is designed to be respectful of your
personal values and beliefs and to ensure
that you and your family are treated with
dignity.
Since medical assistance in dying became
legal in June 2016, a great deal of
work has occurred at MAHC to ensure that
our patients have access to all aspects
of end-of-life care, including medical assistance
in dying, and that our staff and
physicians have a framework that guides
them in this new practice.
There are two ways in which this medical
assistance in dying can ultimately occur:
• A doctor will provide the patient with a
prescription for a fatal dose of medication
to end his/her own life; or
• A doctor administers medications to the
patient that ends the patient’s life. This
is also known as voluntary euthanasia.
Requests for medical assistance in
dying must come from a capable and competent
adult who meets all of the eligibility
criteria, without pressure from others.
Substitute Decision Makers, Powers of
Attorney and/or family members cannot
make this decision and advance directives
cannot be used to request medical
assistance in dying.
To qualify for medical assistance in
dying, you are required to meet all of the
following criteria:
• Eligible for health services funded by a
government of Canada
• At least 18 years of age
• Capable of making decisions about
your health care
• Suffer from a serious and incurable
illness, disease or disability
• Are in an advanced state of irreversible
decline that is causing enduring physical
or psychological suffering that is
intolerable
• Natural death is reasonably foreseeable
• Give informed consent in writing
It is important to consider details like
where you wish to die, the way in which
you wish to die, who you would like present
at your death, whether you wish to
have your pet(s) present, whether you
wish to have music playing or someone
reading to you, and how you would like
your loved ones supported following your
death.
At any point, if you change your mind
you can withdraw your consent to proceed
with medical assistance in dying.
MAHC is committed to ensuring patients
will receive high-quality palliative
and supportive care throughout the process
of requesting medical assistance in
dying or any approach to end-of-life care.
July 2016:
MAHC formalizes a policy on medical
assistance in dying. Find out more at
www.mahc.ca/en/stayingvisiting/
medical-assistance-in-dying.asp.
Dr. Jan Goossens is the
Chief of Medical Staff
at MAHC.
14 2016 COMMUNITY HEALTH BULLETIN