Caring for a loved one in hospice the focus of first travelling workshop
The Saskatchewan Hospice and Palliative Care Association began their new roadshow workshops about end-of-life care for families here in Moose Jaw on Feb. 4, to a full crowd.
The workshop is focused on providing information to family members rather than medical professionals and was organized in partnership with the Moose Jaw Heartland Hospice.
Medical social worker Carla Mitchell began the roadshow by sharing her knowledge of navigating the difficult experience of caring for a loved one needing increasing medical care.
“Caregiving can become incredibly stressful if you don’t find the right supports,” said Mitchell. “The patient, the dying person that comes in their room needs care and support but also all the people around them need care and support too.” As Mitchell noted, around 70 per cent of Canadians do not have access to hospice or palliative care, especially those in rural areas.
Because of this, it often becomes the responsibility of a family member to become a caregiver, with 23 percent of Canadians saying they have done so in the last year. As a medical social worker, Mitchell has plenty of advice to offer those in need of some help navigating the experience. Family provides more than just legal representation and advocacy for a loved one who is terminally ill. The presence of family can also give emotional, psychological, social, and medical care during such a difficult time.
For this reason, Mitchell emphasizes how important it is to keep communication open. News of that type can cause stress and grief, and people handle both of those things differently.
She also advised being prepared — not only legally but by having a conversation with a loved one about your wishes, regarding treatment or organ donation. Discussing the option of palliative care is also important, especially to understand that palliative care isn’t necessarily the end-stage of medical care.
“When you enter into a palliative care program, you’re not saying, ‘this is it, my life is over, there’s nothing left’. . . Good palliative care can run alongside treatment, with therapies to modify diseases. It isn’t an all or nothing approach,” said Mitchell. “I think that because people get scared of that word and that step they need to take, they miss out on a lot of opportunity, resources, support.”
About one-third of people who would benefit from palliative care do not actually get it, said Mitchell, as either the service is not available to them or families find the process of applying too confusing to navigate. This is why Mitchell recommends seeking help from a palliative care coordinator, to help navigate the process of getting into a palliative care program.
Moose Jaw has its own palliative care coordinator available by calling the Access Centre at the Saskatchewan Health Authority, or people can reach out to the local palliative care advocate, Heartland Hospice.
The other advice Mitchell had to share was how important it is to build a support network, both as a patient and a caregiver — gathering anyone who can help with the burden of stress.
It is also beneficial for caregivers to take care of themselves, and Mitchell encouraged anyone in that position to consider applying to the Government of Canada’s caregiver benefits program as it’s largely underused each year.
Mitchell also recommended utilizing online resources such as the Canadian Virtual Hospice website, the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association website, or the Saskatchewan Hospice Palliative Care Association website to seek answers to questions.
The workshop also featured an interactive presentation from Funeral & Cremation Services of Saskatchewan registrar Sandy Mahon, who clarified some of the intricacies of burials and cremation in Saskatchewan.
The roadshow workshop was the first hosted by the SHPCA, who are hoping to continue providing the informational workshop across the province by request. “We’ll be looking at these roadshows for the rural places because they don’t have quite the options that the urban centers have, not too many informational sessions, so that’s our plan,” said Ivy Scobie, co-chair of the SHPCA.
Any communities interested in having the palliative care roadshow present in their community are encouraged to contact the SHPCA to organize the event.
“This is the journey that everyone is going to go through and if they have this information, it’ll make all the difference in the world for those left behind,” said Scobie.