Recently the Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario (CCB) launched a new public education program entitled, “Time to talk about the end of life.” The CCB is an independent body that holds hearings to consider fair and accessible adjudication of consent and capacity issues of individual. The CCB held a few pilot presentations in the Greater Toronto Area, which were well received by community groups. This project has been initiated to have the CCB be part of the growing conversation among Ontarians about planning their acute care choices and protecting their rights.
A recent series of articles pertaining to acute care in some Ontario hospitals, a Supreme Court of Canada decision to address a case between Sunnybrook Doctors vs. Rasouli and his SDM, National Advanced Directives Day and government encouragement to have these conversations have confirmed the need for this public education program.
The aging population, new medical technologies, our diverse population and recent high-profile legal cases have made this an issue whose time has come for serious discussion. The presentation addresses what people are talking about regarding end of life decisions, how health care decisions are made, key issues to consider, giving informed consent and the appointment of a substitute decision-maker.
We are in the process of booking groups for future presentations and would like to extend the presentations to all areas of the province. We invite you to identify diverse groups in your community who would like to have this public education forum at one of their future meetings. The presentation provides handouts and is followed by a question and answer period. The total public education session takes approximately one and a half hours.
For more information please contact Earl Campbell at ecampbellconsulting@sympatico.ca