Over 80 Comox Valley doctors want to keep new hospice beds away from St. Joseph's Hospital

[Heddi]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/over-80-comox-valley-doctors-want-to-keep-new-hospice-beds-away-from-st-joseph-s-hospital-1.4018504

Over 80 Comox Valley doctors want to keep new hospice beds away from St. Joseph's Hospital
Over 80 doctors pen letter to Island Health asking to establish a new hospice that offers assisted death

Doctors in B.C.'s Comox Valley are calling on Island Health to keep two newly-funded hospice beds away from the faith-based St. Joseph's General Hospital, currently the only area hospice but one where Catholic church doctrine discourages doctor-assisted suicide.

Over 80 doctors in the area have penned a letter to Island Health, urging the health authority to develop a new community hospice where patients would be allowed to receive medically-assisted death.

"We feel [medically assisted death] should be something that's available to hospice patients in the valley without having to do what they currently have to do — which is be transferred out to other hospitals," said Dr. Jonathan Reggler, chair of the Physicians Advisory Council with Dying with Dignity Canada.

Reggler says transfers away from the hospital are often painful and distressing for both patients and family. Roughly 14 per cent of assisted deaths on Vancouver Island occur at hospices, according to the doctor.

[Raster]

1. No matter if you are Catholic or not, unfortunately once you enter a Catholic-run hospital...

...you are immediately subject to their version of medicine with a decided theological slant.

[Igel]

2. Yup.

It's like going to a kosher restaurant. They're not open minded enough to serve crawfish jumbalaya.

And you can't get a decent cut of beef at a vegetarian place.

[Lordquinton]

4. That's misrepresenting the problem

And excusing predatory, and harmful behavior.

[trotsky]

5. So you're comparing the religious restriction of medical treatment options...

with eating at a restaurant.

MMM kay.

Religious privilege in action.

[Bretton Garcia]

3. And when they're the only provider in town...

And when they are supported by government tax dollars ....

Then we're getting religion, supported by the government. Interfering in life and death matters.