In an effort to elaborate on previous blog postings the following is a more in depth look at the National Action Planning Workshop on End-of-Life Care that was held in 2002.

Palliative end-of-life care within Canada addresses a number of aspects of end of life including:

• Pain and other symptom management
• Social, psychological, cultural, emotional, and spiritual support
• Caregiver support
• Bereavement support

Care can be offered through formal and informal care programs and its focus is on achieving comfort and respect for the person nearing death. Moreover, it seeks to maximize the quality of life for the patient, family and loved ones.

Now while, end of life care touches all parts of the health care system, Canada has yet to develop and implement policies around the issue. Currently, Health Canada is working towards the development of a national approach to palliative care through the Canadian Strategy on Palliative and End-of-Life Care. The goal of this initiative is to make integrated, accessible, and adequately funded palliative care accessible to all Canadians.

In March of 2002 Health Canada’s Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care held the National Action Planning Workshop on End-of-Life Care. The purpose of this workshop was to launch the development of a national action plan to ensure that all Canadians have access to quality end-of-life care. This workshop focused on the following seven areas:

1. - Availability and Access to Services
2. - Education for Healthcare Providers
3. - Ethical, Cultural and Spiritual Considerations
4. - Public Education and Awareness
5. - Research
6. - Support: Family, Caregiver and Significant Others
7. - Surveillance.

This workshop was the first step in launching the development of a national action plan. It is now up to the Health Canada Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life care and the project Steering Committee to work together to follow through on this report. Significant work has already been done in this area and we must now must use our political will to move forward and make important progress in quality palliative and end-of-life care.