Thank you very much. I'm Dr. José Pereira. I'm a palliative care physician and I'm head and professor of palliative care at the University of Ottawa and at the Bruyère Continuing Care facility here in Ottawa.
l would like to speak to the two recommendations in our submitted brief. The first one is that the Government of Canada extend its research investment in palliative and end-of-life care through at least a five-year palliative and end-of-life research innovations fund, in an amount of at least $16 million.
Canada, through Canadian Institutes for Health Research, has just completed a five-year palliative research initiative. We learned a great deal, but we have much more to learn. Where, for example, are the gaps in services and how can we best address these gaps? Why are so many terminally ill people still dying in hospitals rather than at home or in hospices? Why can we reallocate health care resources to improve end-of-life care and reduce hospital costs in some parts of the country but not in others? How are we going to better provide end-of-life care as the population ages? How can we better alleviate the burden of suffering? How can we improve pain and symptom control? How can we take the excellent Canadian research done over the last eight years on dignity-conserving care to the bedside? What would be the impact on persons with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and the frail elderly?
The second recommendation asks for public engagement and engagement of health care professionals. Many doctors, nurses, and other professionals in practice today have not received adequate training in caring for dying persons. For eight years, starting in the west and now with local and national partners throughout Canada, the Pallium project has been building capacity at a primary health care level. Partners from universities, health care service, government, and not-for-profit agencies have extended their time and expertise to develop essential building blocks for quality end-of-life care.
However, we still have a long way to go. Local leaders throughout Canada have been telling us that their local communities can be compassionate communities, but they need more of the tools and resources to build their confidence and their local capacity.
Thank you.