Advanced Integrative Palliative Care

Palliative Care focuses on providing the support necessary to enjoy the best quality of life while living with a serious illness. Palliative care aims to incorporate the mental, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of a patient and their family and caregivers through an interdisciplinary team approach.

A palliative care consultation is recommended soon after a serious illness is diagnosed to ensure a holistic approach- addressing physical, emotional and spiritual needs- can be integrated into the treatment of cancer or other diseases.

In many parts of the world these terms are often used interchangeably but in British Columbia we use them to mean two different, but related, things. Hospice refers to a facility that provides end-of-life care. It is designed for patients who would benefit from 24/7 supportive care, have a life expectancy of 3 to 6 months, and have chosen to forgo any disease-directed treatment.

Palliative care is suitable at any stage of a serious illness and can be provided alongside disease-directed treatment. It is tailored to the patient’s needs and delivered in various care settings to ultimately enhance quality of life while managing a serious illness.

Integrated Health Clinic is proud to have BC’s only truly integrative palliative care team, with our NDs providing generalist palliative care alongside palliative care specialist Dr. Kevin Sclater, MD, CCFP(PC). Dr. Sclater is a family physician with specialist certification in palliative care who practices at our White Rock clinic. Dr. Sclater has developed a growing interest in naturopathic and integrative medicine. At IHC we will work with your family doctor to have his consultation fee covered by MSP.

Dr. Sclater has served as a palliative care physician for over 25 years. He is certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada with an “added competency in palliative care” and was previously granted certification from the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. For 19 years, he worked as an attending physician at Crossroads Hospice in Port Moody. Additionally, he has also provided palliative care services in both hospital and community settings as a consultant physician and continues to provide after-hours support for hospice and community clients within Fraser Health.

Advance Care Planning (ACP) is the process of thinking, talking, and documenting your wishes and preferences for future healthcare in the event that you are unable to make decisions for yourself. This process also involves discussing your wishes with trusted individuals in your life. Advance care planning is essential regardless of your age or current health status. It is a process that should be carefully considered, discussed, and reviewed every few years.

Figure 1: Advance Care Planning by BC Center for Palliative Care.2

Planning Steps

• Think: what is right for you? What are your values, wishes, beliefs and understanding about your care and specific medical treatments?
• Learn about medical procedures as some may improve quality of life, and some may only keep you alive longer?
• Decide on a substitute decision maker. Choose someone who would honour and follow your wishes, values, and beliefs if you were unable to speak for yourself.
• Talk about your wishes with your loved ones, family physician and care team.
• Record and Review your wishes; written or voice recording.

In order to guide you through this process, we have created an Advance Care Planning Activity to encourage patients to determine what their wishes are and who their decision makers may be.