Medical care at end-of-life

This week, articles have appeared in the media regarding a specific patient case at Sunnybrook concerning medical care at the end-of-life. The interest stems from a recent ruling of the Health Professions and Review Board.

Sunnybrook has spent a substantial amount of time on understanding how decisions are made at the end-of-life and improving our ability to deliver the best care for patients and their families at these difficult times. Over the last few years, a policy on end-of-life was developed at Sunnybrook, involving the entire health care team, including nurses, physicians, spiritual team leaders, and many others. An important part of this planning is developing a care plan that respects patient wishes and also some of the limitations of the care that our health care teams can provide.

End-of-life care can be difficult for everyone involved and in rare occasions there can be disagreement as how best to proceed. In this specific case, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario reviewed the case two separate times and found that those involved acted properly. Our teams are committed to working with patients and families to ensure that we achieve the highest standard in quality of care for dying patients and their family members.

To learn more about end of life care and how decisions are made, please visit quality dying initiative.