News Archives
March 14, 2006
Death burden lightened – Time off, job protection guaranteed in new law
by Melissa Fryer
(reprinted with permission from the Nanaimo
News Bulletin)
Most people hope that at the end of their lives, they’ll have the care that they need to die in comfort, and that they will die with their family and friends around them in the safety and security of their home.
“We’re looking at quality of life for the person who is dying ... to provide as many supports as possible to give them quality of life to the end of life,” said Wendy Pratt, executive director of Nanaimo Community Hospice Society.
“Let’s make this as painless and as peaceful as possible for everyone involved.”
New provincial compassionate care legislation recognizes this important role that hospice palliative care plays in the final days of people’s lives, said Pratt.
| The B.C. government introduced legislation last week to amend the Employment Standards Act to allow an employee to receive up to eight weeks of unpaid leave to provide care or support to an immediate family member who is terminally ill and at risk of death within 26 weeks. |
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“It recognizes that everybody does have the right to care at the end of life and that the people we want the care from the most are our family,” Pratt said.
The federal government created a compassionate care leave progoram in 2004, allowing people to access employment insurance benefits fo eight weeks to care for a dying family member.
