Paramedics in our district are part of a one-year provincial project to address the needs of end-of-life patients who want to die at home.
Cochrane District EMS Chief Jean Carrière says instead of taking the patient to the emergency room, medics will treat them right at home to make sure they’re comfortable; the symptoms that prompted the 911 call are addressed; and that there’s follow-up with their healthcare providers.
Carrière says this region has its own obstacles to palliative care.
“There is no hospice in the District of Cochrane,” he points out, “where we could bring a patient if they choose to die and go there. There are palliative beds within hospitals if that’s what they choose.”
The new program allows the wishes of the palliative patient to be respected.
“The spinoff of that,” adds Chief Carrière, “is that the family is more comfortable having them at home and caring for them.”
The medics have been trained for the new duties, and Carrière expects the program to start in the next month-and-a-half. He remarks that he can’t imagine it not being adopted into normal practice.