CHPCA Advocacy Strategy

To all CHPCA Members, Provincial Hospice Palliative Care Associations, Stakeholders and Partners:

The CHPCA is pleased to provide you with our 2006-2007 Advocacy Strategy Kit.

At the recent CHPCA Annual General Meeting held in Montreal on Monday, September 25, 2006 passed the membership passed a Resolution to focus attention on the recent decision of the Federal Government to cut the budget of the Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care (Health Canada).  Health Canada confirmed on Monday, September 25, 2006 that the budget for 2006-2007 will be $470,000 with $300,000 in funding still pending.  This amount is significantly lower than the more than $1.3 Million the Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care spent in 2005-2006.

Dying and death affects every Canadian, and how we treat our dying citizens reflects who we are as a society.  The 2000 Senate Report entitled “Quality End-of-Life Care: The Right of Every Canadian” stated that less than 15% of Canadians have access to hospice palliative care.  The situation has improved only slightly over the intervening 5 years as evidenced by the follow-up report published by Senator Sharon Carstairs in June 2005 entitled “Still Not There Yet - Quality End-of-Life Care: A Progress Report”.

Approximately 245,000 Canadians die each year, many with multiple chronic diseases.  It is estimated that more than 1 million Canadians are caring for a dying loved one at any given time. This has profound impacts on Canadian families, their employment and on the health and social fabric of this country.

Statistics Canada estimates that by 2020 there will be a 33% increase in the number of deaths in Canada.  The need for quality end-of-life care will necessarily increase.

THE ADVOCACY CHALLENGE:
To make a national sustainable, long-term hospice palliative and end-of-life care strategy a reality we need to count on all of you to take ACTION.

Please review the attached 2006-2007 Advocacy Kit including the charts in section two of the kit to see where you focus your ACTION.  The information you need to put these ideas into ACTION are all included in the attached kit.

The CHPCA National Office is here to provide you with additional information or advice.  For further assistance please contact Sharon Baxter, Executive Director at sbaxter@scohs.on.ca.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

	2006 Advocacy Kit (complete - 0.7Mb)
	Table of Contents
	1.   Time for Change: Still Gathering the Momentum 2.   The 2006-2007 Advocacy Strategy 3.   What a National Strategy Can Do! 4.   Preparing Yourself for Your Face-to-Face Meeting with Your Premier, Minister or Deputy Minister Resources: 5.   Fact Sheet on Hospice Palliative Care in Canada (May 2006) 6.   Influencing Change:  A Patient and Caregiver Advocacy Guide [A Living Lessons® Resource] 7.   Key Public Awareness Messages and the Media 8.   Framework for a National Strategy on Palliative and End-of-Life Care – Updated May 2006 9.   Federal Template Letter (to be personalized by you) 10. Provincial Template Letter (to be personalized by you) 11. QELCCC Media Release – September 14, 2006 12. CHPCA Media Advisory – September 26, 2006