Palliative Care

BC Renal, working with kidney care professionals from across the province, aims to support the delivery of high-quality care for people with kidney disease in the last years, months or days of their lives, regardless of where they live in BC.

Guidelines & Tools

Integrative Palliative Nephrology Resource Guide

End-of-life Framework

End-of-Life Framework Document

The framework report is aligned with the BC Renal Network's strategic priority of creating quality outcomes and better value for patients.

Key principles of the framework include close collaboration with palliative care colleagues and programs in the geographic Health Authorities, as well as alignment with the Ministry of Health Services palliative care strategy.

As outlined in the framework report there are four distinct aspects needed for full renal EOL program development. These are:

patient identification
symptom assessment and management
advance care planning process
care in the final stages, including grief and bereavement.

Serious Illness Conversation Guide and Advance Care Planning

Serious Illness Conversation Guide

Advance Care Planning (ACP)

Advance Care Planning(ACP) - Data Entry Work Sheet*

*Order Printed Copies

Stopping Dialysis Treatment Guides

Care Team Guide:

Transition from Dialysis Treatment to Palliative Care

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) became legal in Canada on June 17, 2016, when the Government of Canada passed Bill C-14, which established the legal framework to regulate this ‎health care service.

In British Columbia, common systems, forms and tools were developed to support health care providers in addressing MAiD inquiries and requests from patients, families and the general public.

The BC Ministry of Health website provides comprehensive information on MAiD for health care providers and the public. All provincial MAiD forms are also available on the website.

E-learning courses on MAiD specially designed for Registered Nurses and Assessors and Prescribers are available on PHSA's LearningHub.

Each health authority has also established a MAiD Care Coordination Service, Centre or Office. Professional colleges in BC too have online resources dedicated to MAiD.

Health care providers working within health authorities should contact their HA’s designated coordinator for MAiD, or their supervisor for more information on policy and processes.

Health authority links:

Professional college links:

Resources

Health Authority Resources

Fraser Health

fraserhealth.ca: Information on Advance Care Planning & Hospice Palliative Care Symptom Guidelines

Vancouver Coastal Health

vch.ca: In the search box type in "advance care planning", "palliative care", "end of life care", or "advance directive" for a variety of options.

Providence Health Care

http://hpc.providencehealthcare.org/: Information on palliative and hospice care.

Vancouver Island Health

viha.ca: VIHA Advance Directives.
victoriahospice.org: Victoria Hospice's Palliative Care Education. Includes Bereavement Risk Assessment Tool and Palliative Performance Scale.

Interior Health

https://www.interiorhealth.ca/health-and-wellness/palliative-and-end-of-life-care: A repository of information on palliative care, including advance care planning.

Northern Health

northernhealth.ca : Information on end-of-life/palliative and hospice care.

BC Children's Hospital

bcchildrens.ca: To view a variety of pamphlets on Grief and Palliative Care that includes symptom management, see the online A - Z pamphlets section of the Family Resource Library.
Canuck Place Children's Hospice: offers a variety of child and family support resources.

Education Programs

‎BC programs

British Columbia Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) lists upcoming palliative care conferences and possible learning opportunities.
hospicebc.org

Canadian programs

Canadian Association of Nephrology Social Workers (CANSW).
cansw.org

Conservative treatment: Choosing not to start dialysis.
kidney.ca

Canadian Network of Palliative Care for Children.
cnpcc.ca

Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (CSPCP) offers educational opportunities for physicians.
cspcp.ca

Canadian Virtual Hospice lists both healthcare professional educational opportunities and a variety of useful tools for practice.
virtualhospice.ca

Educating Future Physicians in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EFPPEC) offers a variety of resources in the Palliative Learning Commons. This initiative is in collaboration with the Pallium Project and the CHPCA.
www.cspcp.ca

Ian Anderson continuing Education Program in End-of-Life Care University of Toronto. Note: As of May 1, 2007, this program is no longer offered; however, the materials remain accessible on the website below.
cme.utoronto.ca

Kidney Foundation of Canada
Under Services then Publications you will find two information pamphlets titled: Choosing to stop dialysis: A brochure for patients and families.
kidney.ca

TAPE Educational Services (in affiliation with the Continuing Education Division of St Michael's College in the University of Toronto) offers Skills Development Workshops and Online Programs.
adv-edu.com

The Association of Faculty of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) was funded by Health Canada to put together Curriculum Materials for Facilitating Advance Care Planning: An Interprofessional Education Program.
afmc.ca

International programs

American Association of Colleges of Nurses offers a program titled End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) that focuses on training nurses in EOL and palliative care.
aacn.nche.edu

American Nephrology Nurses' Association (ANNA) offers a series of three End-of-Life modules for CNE opportunities.
annanurse.org

Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EPEC) Project from Northwestern University.
epec.net

End-of-life/Palliative Care Education Resource Center offers numerous resources. Be sure to check out the Fast Facts Index as a useful resource.
www.capc.org

Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
hms.harvard.edu

Hospice UK offers the following resource
learning.hospiceuk.org

National Kidney Foundation
kidney.org

Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care offers a tremendous list of resources including pediatrics.
promotingexcellence.org

Respecting Choices: An Advanced Care Planning program by a department of the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation. This website lists both onsite and online ACP courses.
respectingchoices.org

National Association of Social Workers
socialworkers.org

'The Social Work End of Life Care Education Project: An assessment of educational needs' article from the National Association of Social Workers
socialworkers.org

The Social Work in Hospice and Palliative Care Network
swhpn.org (2009)‎

Standards of Practice

These are some professional organizations' position statements and standards of practice:

Canadian Association of Nephrology Nurses and Technologists (CANNT). Nursing Standards of Practice (2008). Recommendations for practice are available for conservative management, advance care planning and palliative care.
Canadian Nurses Association. (2017). Code of ethics for registered nurses.
Canadian Nurses Association. (n.d.). Providing Nursing Care at the End-of-Life Position Statement.
Renal Physicians Association & The American Society of Nephrology Board of Directors. (1997 & 2002). RPA/ASN position on quality care at the end of life.

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Provincial Health Services Authority