Patients granted assisted death
Coroner reports seven cases among Ottawa hospitals
Seven people have received assisted death in Ottawa since federal legislation passed in June, according to the office of Ontario’s chief coroner.
The coroner’s office, which records each medically assisted death, did not release any other information about the individuals or where they died. But the numbers suggest a system to administer medical assistance in dying to those who request it and qualify is developing in Ottawa and area, even as some health institutions opt out and others scramble to create policies while they await provincial regulations.
The Ottawa Hospital, the city’s biggest health institution, confirmed the procedure has been performed there. But hospital spokesperson Kate Eggins would not say how many patients have received medical assistance in dying.
“The Ottawa Hospital has performed MAID (medical assistance in dying) since the legislation took effect but, for privacy reasons, we won’t be releasing the number as it’s a small, small group.”
Queensway Carleton Hospital has completed six assessments of patients for medical assistance in dying but has not done any procedures, according to a spokesperson.
Bruyère Continuing Care, the only Ottawa hospital providing complex palliative care, says assisted death won’t be performed there.
The Catholic Health Association of Ontario, which oversees Bruyère and other Catholic health organizations, has developed guidelines on medically assisted death. They state that Catholic health institutions will not participate in “the eligibility assessment of (medical assistance in dying) nor in the act of (medical assistance in dying).”
Those guidelines discourage assessments and conversations about assisted death from taking place in Catholic institutions. It is a policy that is being criticized by the organization Dying With Dignity.
Bruyère’s approach appears to be more flexible than those guidelines. It allows conversations and consultations about assisted death in some cases, recognizing the frailty of its patients, a hospital official said.
The Ottawa Hospital says its physicians visit Bruyère to assess patients for medical assistance in dying and that the hospital accepts patients to be assessed there.
“The Ottawa Hospital accepts patients referred from health-care organizations in the Champlain LHIN to be assessed for medical assistance in dying, according to the wishes of the patient,” said Eggins.
Bruyère is not the only local health organization that says it will not perform assisted death. Lisa Sullivan, executive director of Hospice Care Ottawa, says it will not provide assisted death in its hospices, “but that doesn’t mean our physicians will not support the process. We feel we won’t do the procedure on site but we will provide compassionate care for people who need it.”
Pembroke Regional Hospital, a Catholic-run institution that is the city’s only hospital, has not yet developed a policy on the issue, said chief executive Pierre Noel, but “it stands to reason” that it won’t perform assisted death.
He didn’t have details on how assessments would be handled but said the hospital hasn’t had a request for medically assist in death.
“We would deal with it on a caseby-case basis. The important part is that we are never going to abandon our patients. We will deal with patient circumstances as they present themselves. We will continue to treat them with the care and compassion they deserve.”
Dying With Dignity has said it has concerns about the trauma of moving patients between Catholic hospitals and long-term care facilities for assessments and to receive the procedure.
Meanwhile, hospitals and health organizations across the region say they are developing or have developed policies to handle requests from patients and to respect the rights of physicians who object to the procedure.
“In addition to supporting robust palliative care services, The Ottawa Hospital also recognizes the right of capable adult patients who are suffering intolerably as a result of grievous and irremediable medical condition to access medical assistance in dying,” The Ottawa Hospital’s policy says.
Queensway Carleton says it worked closely with The Ottawa Hospital “to make sure our policies were consistent.”
A spokeswoman for the Montfort Hospital said it was working with patients on a case-by-case basis while finalizing its policy, adding, “We hope to receive provincial guidelines in the near future.”
The province says it is “considering a number of legislative and/or regulatory measures for full system MAID implementation. The ministry is expecting these measures to be in place in early 2017.”