Newfoundland health board launches end-of-life planning program

Patients will be asked to think more about their final days when they arrive for treatment at some Newfoundland hospitals next week.

In a new policy, patients at Eastern Health hospitals will be asked to consider what type of procedures they want performed and which they do not while in the last stages of their lives.

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Starting Tuesday, Eastern Health says these discussions will become more common for all patients checking into their hospitals, even when they are only experiencing a minor health issue.

The concept is called advanced directives, and it's not new to hospitals across Canada.

By declaring preferences earlier in life while still healthy people can opt out of certain treatments, like CPR, when they are older.

Proponentssay those conversations helpthe elderly avoid treatments and surgeries that they might not actually want and can be very painful. It also helps reduce the increasing cost and burden on hospitals.

Expanded use of advanced care directives was one of the recommendations fromthe Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association when it looked at how to save the health care system money earlierthis year.

Feeling responsible

"When faced with sudden, end-of-life decisionsmost people will ask for interventions for their loved ones that they would not want for themselves," said David Diamond, head of Eastern Health, in a press releaseThursday.

"Most people do not want to feel responsible for making decisions at the end of another person's life."

Patients will be asked to write down their own preferences for their end-of-life care, and to name a caretaker who can make decisions if they're incapable.

The program is optional, and patients will not be forced to make advanced decisions.

• End-of-life planning need not be 'doom and gloom': seniors' group

Eastern Health says it's the first time it'sundertaken a broad regional strategy of promoting these types of conversations.

The health board says about half of the people it sees in its facilities don't fully know thepreferences of their family members.

It wants that to change.

"Research indicates that patients who have end-of-life conversations with their doctors and family members are much more likely to be satisfied with their care," says Diamond.