WINCHESTER, Ontario – The Winchester District Memorial Hospital (WDMH) Board of Directors approved a motion to allow hospital doctors to offer Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID).
“This decision is the result of a lengthy process that began with the change in Canadian law last June, followed by planning involving physicians, staff, patients, families, our Ethics Committee and legal counsel,” notes Marieke vanNoppen, Board Chair. “This is a new service that WDMH is offering to the communities we serve, but it’s important to note that a component of MAID is the right for health care providers to choose not to be involved,” she added. “Anyone at WDMH can choose not to be involved in MAID and that choice will be respected.”
In February 2015, The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that it was unconstitutional to barr doctors from assisting patients in ending their lives if that was the wish of the patient.
On June 17, 2016, the Liberal Government passed legislation to allow doctor assisted dying in Canada.
Under the law, citizens over the age of 18 who are mentally competent and are suffering from a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” are eligible to ask a doctor to assist them in ending their lives.
