(March 25, 2013 – Ottawa, ON) The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) is pleased to announce the federal government has proposed funding of $3 million over three years to the Pallium Foundation of Canada to support training in palliative care to front-line health care providers. The 2013 budget also proposes the expansion of GST/HST credits for family caregivers and home care.
“In order to advance hospice palliative care in Canada, we need to ensure that all front line workers are properly trained and educated,” said Sharon Baxter, Executive Director of the CHPCA, “This funding ensures that the Pallium Foundation of Canada can take the first steps towards this.”
The Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada reports that over the next 10 years, professional education will be even more important in a systems-wide approach to hospice palliative and end-of-life care – where Canadians will receive quality care in all care settings where they die. As a member of the Coalition, the Pallium Foundation of Canada is well positioned to become a catalyst for palliative end-of-life care education and training.
This contribution builds on the one made to the Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition in the 2011 budget for The Way Forward: Moving Towards Community-Integrated Hospice Palliative Care in Canada initiative, which aims to help develop new community-integrated palliative care models across Canada.
“Quality palliative care is the right of every Canadian, yet not every Canadian can access these services at a time when they and their families need it most,” added Sarah Walker, President of the CHPCA. “Although this funding is another leap forward, there is still much to be done as our population continues to age and access to hospice palliative care remains sparse.”
Canada’s population is aging and, combined with increasing numbers of chronic diseases, the demands for hospice palliative care will continue to grow. Seniors make up the fastest-growing age group. In 2003, an estimated 4.6 million Canadians were 65 years of age or older, a number that is expected to double in the next 25 years. By 2041, about one in four Canadians is expected to be 65 or over.
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For more information or to set up an interview, please contact:
Vanessa Sherry
Communications Officer
Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 613-241-3663 ext. 229
About the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) is the national voice for hospice palliative care in Canada. It is a bilingual, national charitable non-profit association whose mission is the pursuit of excellence in care for persons approaching death so that the burdens of suffering, loneliness and grief are lessened.