A Message for World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

The theme for this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is “Don’t leave those suffering behind!”. While other countries, particularly those in the developing world struggle with providing access to quality palliative care, as Canadians we are very fortunate to benefit from the many programs and services in place to help patients and families.

But equally as Canadians we have that drive and empathy to be better and lend a helping hand to those in need. Days like today are important to help raise awareness and understanding of the medical, social, financial, practical and spiritual needs of people living with a life limiting illness and their families.
In support of the organizing team at the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance we lend our voice to echo the sentiments that palliative care needs to be integrated into workforce training and that continuing professional development opportunities be made available. To that end the de Souza Institute offers exceptional education opportunities for front line healthcare workers. Our course on Interprofessional Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (iEPECO) focuses on a person centred palliative care approach that addresses both physical and psychological challenges that patients and families encounter.

On this day I ask that you do your part to help raise awareness of palliative care. You can tweet or post on social media, you can have a conversation with a loved one or colleague, or you can enroll in our iEPECO course. No gesture is too small or too big. It is up to all of us to ensure that dialogue continues and that we don’t leave those suffering behind.

Executive Director, Dr. Mary Jane Esplen