The Colchester East Hants Hospice (CEHH) was honoured to play host to an important provincial announcement during National Hospice Palliative Care week. Minister of Health, Leo Glavine, announced on Wednesday that the province is investing $1 million in Hospice Palliative care this year.

Thanking everyone for the opportunity to be at CEHH during Hospice Palliative Care Week, Minister Glavine emphasised the importance of the work Hospice does in the community: “you do very important work in this community, and you’re making us feel right at home here in your living room.”

The minister made clear that the new palliative care strategy for Nova Scotia will start “with a definition of what palliative or hospice care is – helping patients live as actively as possible through a life-limiting illness, providing quality of life and relieving suffering for patients and their families, and offering support to cope with the end of life.”

Within the first year of the new initiative, the province will focus on a handful of key areas:

• Striking an advisory committee to help guide the implementation of the strategy.
• A provincial palliative care coordinator will be hired to advance the strategy.
• Additional palliative care team members to be hired, with the first enhancement to occur in South Shore, Annapolis Valley and Capital district health authorities.
• Funding of the Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association to begin educating Nova Scotians and care providers on advance planning.

Dr. David Henderson, CEHH board member and palliative physician at the Colchester East Hants Health Authority, applauded this initial step: “”This strategy will guide professionals in different parts of the health system and increase our capacity to work more closely together, and with patients, families and community organizations to provide the right kind of care, at the right time, and in the right place.”

Please visit the following links for further details on Wednesday’s announcement:

Department of Health and Wellness: Strategy to Improve Palliative Care for Nova Scotians

CTV News [Video]:  N.S. to spend $1M for first year of palliative care strategy

Global News [Video]: Nova Scotia to spend $1M for 1st year of palliative care strategy

CBC News: Palliative care strategy gets $1M from Nova Scotia government

CBC News NS at Six [Video] (Coverage begins approximately 7 mins and 40 sec in to the video)

Truro Daily News: Strategy to improve palliative care for Nova Scotians