RESOURCES & LINKS

BCHPCA Resources

Plan Well Guide

Plan Well Guide is a free, advanced serious illness planning tool. The Plan Well Guide can help you learn how serious illness decisions are made. You’ll learn about how important your values and preferences are in making those decisions. This guide can help you make a plan that clearly lets others, like your doctor, family, and substitutes decision-maker, know what you want for your care. By doing your serious illness planning ahead of time, you’re more likely to get the medical care that’s right for you. It can also lower the stress and anxiety your family members will have if they need to make life or death decisions for you.

A Guide to Hospice Volunteer Training in BC – A Facilitator’s Guide – Revised 2016

Introduction

Module One – Background

Module Two- Medical Care

Module Three – Personal Practical Care

Module Four- Psychosocial Spiritual Practical Care

Module Five – Loss Grief Bereavement Care

Module Six- Communication

Module Seven – Self-Care

Appendices

BCHPCA Standards

Volunteer Standards for Hospice Palliative Care in British Columbia

Video – Journey

Palliative Competency Framework – Hospice Volunteers

BC Centre for Palliative Care
Palliative Competency Framework
Hospice Volunteers

The need for provincial competency standards for palliative care and palliative approach provision has been identified by the BC Centre for Palliative Care (BCCPC) and the Community of Practice for Palliative Care Education (Pall Ed).

In 2019, BCCPC developed the Inter-professional Palliative Care Competency Framework to identify ideal competencies for health-care providers (HCPs) caring for people* with life-limiting conditions in British Columbia. The resulting inter-professional competency framework and discipline-specific competencies were established for physicians and nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, counsellors, and health care assistants.

Download Palliative Competency Framework (PDF)

Provincial Resources

New Resource developed by Indigenous Peoples encourages crucial conversations

Quality palliative care helps you honour your culture, spirituality and traditions. At LivingMyCulture.ca, people from various cultures share their stories and wisdom about living with serious illness, end of life and grief to support others.

Read more and download resources

DELTA HOSPICE SOCIETY ONLINE COURSE – Towards the Light, Illuminating the Palliative Approach

The Delta Hospice Society has created an online course on Open Learning called Towards the Light, Illuminating the Palliative Approach.   It is interactive, can be completed at your own pace, is free, and begins on June 27, 2017.

This project is funded by the Seed Grants Program, a joint initiative between the BC Centre for Palliative Care and the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association, which is funded through a grant from the Ministry of Health.

Click HERE for More Information

Advance Care Planning
Making Future Health Care Decisions

BC Government – Advance Care Planning

The Provincial End-of-Life Care Action Plan for BC
Priorities and actions for health system and service redesign as outlined by the BC Ministry of Health, 2013.

BC Ministry of Health: End of Life Care Action Plan

BC Palliative Care Benefits Program
The BC Palliative Care Benefits Program supports BC residents of any age who have reached the end stage of a life-threatening disease or illness and who wish to receive palliative care at home.

BC Palliative Care Benefits Program

BC Bereavement Helpline
Helping the people of BC to cope with grief. Assistance is available for the bereaved and their caregivers.

BC Bereavement Helpline

Accessing End of Life Care in BC
End-of-life care is supportive and compassionate care that improves the quality of life for dying people and their families. Care at the end of life addresses physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of the dying person and focuses on comfort and symptom management, respect for decisions, and support for the dying person and their family.

BC Government – Accessing End of Life Care in BC

Family Caregivers’ Network Society There are over 93,000 family caregivers in the Greater Victoria area who provide care for an adult family member or friend who is chronically ill, frail, elderly or has a disability.

Family Caregivers’ Network Society

Home and Community Care Services
If you are interested in receiving home and community care services or know of someone who might be in need of these services you can contact the home and community care office in your health authority to request an assessment for services.

BC Government – Home & Community Care Services

Vancouver Island Advance Care Planning
Advance care planning is a process of reflection and communication that can take place across your lifespan. It is a time for you to reflect on your beliefs, values, and wishes. It is a time to let others know your health care and personal preferences if you are ever unable to speak for yourself.

Vancouver Island Advance Care Planning

BC Centre for Palliative Care – Be Prepared in the Time of COVID-19

Step-by-step guides for advance care planning including an accompanying information sheet about the potential benefits and harms of life-support treatments that may be offered in critical illness from COVID-19.

Download a copy of the Guide

Download a copy of Life-support Treatments and Complications

Access the interactive ‘step-by-step guide’ on the BC-CPC website

National Resources

Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) Provides leadership and advocacy for quality hospice palliative care for all Canadians and increased awareness of end of life care issues in Canada.

Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association

Canadian Virtual Hospice Information and support on palliative and end-of-life care, loss and grief. Our team of experts can answer your questions about life-threatening illness and loss.

Canadian Virtual Hospice

Canadian Virtual Hospice – New online Tools

  • A free online resource to help people work through their grief from the comfort of their own home, at their own pace. It was developed by family members who’ve “been there,” and grief experts to complement existing community resources and help address the lack of grief services in Canada. It is also an education tool for health providers.  MyGrief.ca   
  • This video series shares the lived experience of sixty-four people from eleven cultures to help improve quality of life and care that is culturally safe and inclusive. Stories about traditions, rituals and spirituality, experiences of care, after death ceremonies and grief are shared in more than 600 video clips (available in 11 languages).  LivingMyCulture.ca
  • A free online course on prescribing methadone for pain management in palliative care. This self-directed course is accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. This course will also be of interest to nurses and pharmacists who wish to improve their knowledge of methadone.  Methadone4Pain.ca

Compassionate Care Benefits Benefits paid to eligible individuals who must be away from work temporarily to provide care or support to a family member who is seriously ill and at risk of dying.

Government of Canada – Compassionate Care Benefits

Quality End of Life Care Coalition of Canada The Quality End-of-life Care Coalition of Canada is a group of over 36 national organizations concerned about quality end-of-life care for all Canadians.

Quality End of Life Care Coalition of Canada

Living Lessons A national initiative providing resources for patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals involved with end-of-life care in Canada.

Living Lessons

Speak Up The Speak Up campaign was developed to raise awareness of the importance of advance care planning, as well as the issues related to an aging population, a strained health care system and end of life care. Join the Speak Up Team and help promote national advance care planning day.

Speak Up

The Way Forward Imagine a new reality, where hospice palliative care is available to Canadians when and where they need it―where the goal of care is to live well until death. Now, imagine a plan to get there. That’s The Way Forward.

The Way Forward

Palliative Care Network Community Palliative Care Network’s mission is to provide a free platform to empower Palliative Care professionals to teach, interact, and exchange ideas with fellow colleagues globally to promote collaboration and an exchange of knowledge. Includes Barry Ashpole’s weekly Media Watch.

Palliative Care Network Community

International Resources

Five Wishes
Five Wishes lets your family and doctors know:

1.  Who you want to make health care decisions for you when you can’t make them.
2.  The kind of medical treatment you want or don’t want.
3.  How comfortable you want to be.
4.  How you want people to treat you.
5.  What you want your loved ones to know.

Aging With Dignity – Five Wishes

The Conversation Project
Have you had the conversation?

The Conversation Project

Famous Quotes