New report highlights growing pressures facing hospice societies, rural inequities, and the need for a coordinated provincial pathway for hospice palliative care.
The BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) has released a new provincial report, Building the Missing Pathway for Hospice Palliative Care in British Columbia, calling for stronger integration, planning, and sustainable investment in community-based hospice palliative care across the province.
For more than 40 years, hospice societies across British Columbia have supported individuals and families through serious illness, caregiving, grief, bereavement, and end-of-life care. Today, hospice societies collectively support approximately 120,000 service interactions annually while generating an estimated $141 million in annual system value.
The report highlights:
- growing reliance on hospice societies across communities
- fragmented and inconsistent funding structures
- increasing pressures related to aging populations and health system demand
- significant inequities in rural and remote communities
- opportunities for alignment with emerging federal infrastructure investments
“British Columbia is already relying on hospice societies as part of its health system, but funding them as though they are outside of it,” said Pablita Thomas, ED of BCHPCA.
The report outlines three key recommendations:
- Establish a provincial hospice palliative care funding pathway
- Integrate hospice societies into provincial and regional health system planning
- Advance equitable access in rural, remote, and underserved communities
Download the full report:
Building the Missing Pathway for Hospice Palliative Care in British Columbia
Read the Full Press Release:
About BCHPCA
The BC Hospice Palliative Care Association is a provincial systems partner and not-for-profit organization that has been strengthening hospice palliative care across British Columbia and Yukon for more than 40 years through advocacy, education, collaboration, and sector leadership.
