VANCOUVER The hospice in Delta, B.C., that refused to offer patients access to medically assisted death has been taken over by the local health authority. Fraser Health took possession of the lands and buildings at Irene Thomas Hospice on Monday after formally ending its service agreement with the Delta Hospice Society, which used to receive about $1.5 million in annual funding from the province. But the society s board balked at government pressure to provide access to Medical Assistance in Dying, a service B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix has called a medical right for patients in publicly funded hospice care.
VANCOUVER Patients at a hospice in Delta, B.C. will have their final days and weeks disrupted by a move to other facilities because the Delta Hospice Society Board refuses to work with Fraser Health on a transition plan as the health authority takes over operations at the facility. The Irene Thomas Hospice in Ladner has 10 beds and provides end of life care for patients with terminal illnesses. In February 2020, Fraser Health served the board with one year’s notice to end its service agreement and withdraw funding after the board refused to offer Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), the end of life option that has been legal in Canada since 2016.