Here in Vancouver, we’re expanding options for terminally ill clients in the community by increasing the number of hospice beds.

VCH issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) this past Friday that will increase hospice beds in Vancouver by as much as 60 per cent.

“Ensuring hospice residents receive the best possible care and have access to the services they need is a top priority,” says Laura Case, COO for Vancouver Community. “These additional hospice beds will help to provide increased access to timely, coordinated end of life care in the community.”

18 new beds

Currently, there are 28 hospice beds in three contracted facilities across Vancouver. The RFP will secure up to 18 new hospice beds, both in the Downtown Eastside and elsewhere in Vancouver.

Hospices provide holistic care and support to improve the quality of life for people of any age and at any stage who are terminally ill in the last three months of their lives.

Quality of care

“This expansion will help improve the quality of care for people nearing the end of their lives,” says Dr. Tim Sakaluk, Medical Director of Home Hospice Palliative Care Services in Vancouver. “In many cases, this means clients can live out their last days in a peaceful and comfortable home-like setting rather than in a hospital.”

In Vancouver, clients may also remain in their homes and access end of life clinical care and support provided by interdisciplinary teams including home care nurses. Vancouver community of care also provides 27 acute beds in palliative care units at St Paul’s and VGH.

Part of the plan

This expansion aligns with the Provincial End of Life Action Plan, and the Province’s commitment to double the number of hospice spaces in B.C. by 2020, aiming to bolster the range of services for clients and their families, supporting choice, access and quality of life.