Eligibility

To receive hospice palliative care services, patients must:

• Have a life-threatening illness or be facing end of life issues
• Have a life expectancy of weeks or months rather than years
• Understand the primary goal of care/treatment is quality of life, not cure of disease
• Agree to the referral or to consultative support

For admission to a hospice residence, patients must:

• Be supported by the hospice palliative care program and BC Palliative Care Benefits Program
• Have care needs that cannot be supported in community or residential care settings
• Have no requirement for acute care
• Present with a life expectancy of less than three months
• Agree with the hospice philosophy of care

The hospice palliative care team, through discussions with you, your family and your physician, helps make decisions about admission to a hospice.

For admission to a tertiary hospice palliative care unit, patients must:

• Live in the Fraser Health region
• Be 19 years of age or older
• Agree to the goals of hospice palliative care
• Require short-term, specialized assessment and care

When symptoms improve and a plan of care is in place, you will return home or move to a hospice or hospital in own community.

Patients can still receive care but the intent is to improve the person’s quality of life rather than cure the disease.