E-Bulletin 100      John Q Gregg      July 2010

CONNECTING CLIENTS, FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND OTHERS

This bulletin is an irregular compendium of links and newsbits for clients, family, and other friends. Usually, there's a theme, such as Back to school, or Doing Good issues.

This one is a little bit about dying.


DYING WELL STILL A PRIVILEGE, NOT YET A RIGHT

Commissioned by the Lien Foundation (http://www.lienfoundation.org/), the first ever study of the quality of death across 40 countries was unveiled mid-month by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

For those who wish to dig into it, there is some truly intruiging material here. But who wants to read about death? Go on, I dare you.

http://www.lifebeforedeath.com/qualityofdeath/index.shtml



Of the 40 countries, Canada is ranked 9th, tied with the US (Damn!), . . . but for very different reasons. Canada is strong on the ready availablity of cheap painkillers, but weak, very weak, on the number of hospices and palliative care services.*

* Those who lathered themselves into a frenzy over the HST might want to direct their political eneregy toward improving our quality of death. (Or child poverty. Or something truly meaningful, rather than the increased costs to their lunch. But that's a whole nother story.)


ONE LEGAL TOOL TOWARD DYING WELL

A Representation Agreement is the British Columbia version of a power of attorney for health and medical care. It can provide iron clad instructions on how you wish to be treated when you can no longer communicate your needs and wishes. Unique to our province, it has now been available for a decade.

Nidus has been around just as long. Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre is a non-government, charitable society. Nidus is volunteer driven, supported by the organizations and individuals who were involved for up to 10 years in the grass-roots reform of British Columbia’s adult guardianship legislation. The Resource Centre was incorporated in 1995 and hired its first staff in February 2000.

http://www.nidus.ca/



A Nidus objective has been to de-mystify the Representation Agreement, to make it simpler to understand, easier to implement. Nidus now offers a Self-Help Course for Representation Agreements with Standard Powers. For a description of the Course, watch the video or read about it below.

http://www.nidus.ca/textual/forms.htm#SelfHelpCourse



(Before you get too far along, though, you'll want to review the distinction between "standard powers" and "broad powers." The authority to refuse life support is an additional power, and will require a lawyer's assistance to complete the document.)


ANOTHER SELF HELP TOOL, SIMPLER?, LESS LEGALLY BINDING

Strangely, the Vancouver Island Health Authority touts another form, which it admits is not a legal document, but which it expects to be honoured -- at least in hospitals it controls. This is the Advance Health Care Directive.

"It is a tool that can be used by a legally appointed decision maker — that is, by a legally appointed Representative, Temporary Substitute Decision Maker, or health care provider (in certain emergency situations)." This TSDM is appointed if you do not have a Representative (appointed by your Representation Agreement). If you are beyond communicating, this TSDM can be appointed by the hospital, and will work down a natural list: spouse, adult child, parent, sibling. Your Advance Health Care Directive may then indeed have some clout, when waved under the doctor's nose by your TSDM.

http://www.viha.ca/advance_directives/




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