Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
114<br />
<strong>Health</strong> systems in transition <strong>Canada</strong><br />
to the enormous differences in the nature of these services across <strong>Canada</strong>, as<br />
illustrated <strong>for</strong> home-based palliative care in Table 5.3. In addition, the Senate<br />
of <strong>Canada</strong> has both raised awareness of palliative care and recommended a<br />
pan-Canadian strategy <strong>for</strong> a more consistent, comprehensive and integrated<br />
system of palliative care (Senate of <strong>Canada</strong>, 2010).<br />
Table 5.3<br />
Home-based palliative care services by jurisdiction in <strong>Canada</strong>, 2008<br />
Province or<br />
territory<br />
24/7<br />
access to<br />
nursing–<br />
personal<br />
care services<br />
24/7<br />
access to<br />
case<br />
management<br />
services<br />
Protocol<br />
<strong>for</strong> timely<br />
referrals<br />
Wait time<br />
tracking<br />
Policy<br />
<strong>for</strong> teambased<br />
care<br />
Interprofessional<br />
education<br />
Support <strong>for</strong><br />
research<br />
British Columbia X – – – X – –<br />
Alberta X – – – X X X<br />
Saskatchewan – X X – X – –<br />
Manitoba X – X – X X X<br />
Ontario X X X X – X X<br />
New Brunswick X – X X X – –<br />
Nova Scotia X – – – – – –<br />
Prince Edward Island – – X – X X X<br />
Newfoundland<br />
and Labrador<br />
– X X – X X X<br />
Nunavut – – X X X X X<br />
Northwest Territories – – – X – – –<br />
Yukon – – X – X X X<br />
Source: Derived from Quality End-of-Life Coalition of <strong>Canada</strong> (2008).<br />
Note: Quebec did not participate in the survey.<br />
The majority of larger hospitals in <strong>Canada</strong> have palliative care units, a<br />
development that originated with the division of cancer treatment into curative<br />
and palliative in the 1970s. While hospital-based end-of-life care is relatively<br />
consistent in <strong>Canada</strong>, there are important differences in terms of home-based<br />
palliative care services funded and administered by provincial and territorial<br />
governments (Quality End-of-Life Coalition of <strong>Canada</strong>, 2008). There is also<br />
considerable variety in palliative care policies and programmes across the<br />
country (Williams et al., 2010).<br />
5.11 Mental health care<br />
Over the past half-century, mental health care <strong>for</strong> individuals with severe and<br />
chronic mental illness has evolved from an emphasis on large psychiatric<br />
hospitals, in which patients resided <strong>for</strong> very long periods of time, to more