The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) has launched the “Bring Care Closer” campaign, urging provincial governments to build new hospice residences so that more families have the option to choose hospice care closer to home.
In an October 2023 report, CCS found that the Canadian government is not providing good enough palliative care for people with progressive illnesses like cancer. According to the Auditor General of Ontario, each region should have seven hospice beds per 100,000 people. However, as of 2022, Canada only has 3.97 hospice beds per 100,000 people. Only British Columbia and Yukon have more than seven beds per 100,000 people.
Ontario falls short of the recommended average of seven hospice beds per 100,000 people, with only 3.47 per 100,000. The “Bring Care Closer” campaign has been placing billboards and digital ads in underserved communities to build local momentum for the construction of hospice residences. These ads highlight the significant distance to the nearest hospice residence in areas like Kemptville, the Kawartha Lakes, and Georgina in Ontario.
Daniel Nowoselski, Advocacy Manager for Hospice Palliative Care for CCS, believes that everyone with a life-limiting illness, such as cancer, should be able to choose where they receive care. In Ontario, many people do not have a hospice residence nearby and face difficult decisions regarding their loved ones’ end-of-life care. Nowoselski is collaborating with community groups across the province to encourage the government to build hospice residences where they are needed most. He emphasizes the critical role of hospice residences in Canada’s healthcare system and insists that everyone should have access to them.
Nowoselski explains that palliative care is focused on helping people live as fully as possible during their remaining time so they can concentrate on what matters most, such as spending time with family. Hospice residences provide a home-like environment offering pain and symptom management, as well as emotional and spiritual support during end-of-life care. Additionally, hospice residences help families cope with grief and loss.
Having access to a hospice residence is important for people. It helps them spend their final days in a place of their choice, rather than in a hospital or constantly going to a busy emergency room.
Residents of Ontario can support CCS’s push for better hospice care by sending a letter to their elected official here.
