Assisted death: How far must patients be moved?

A B.C. Supreme Court trial is examining transfers of patients from faith-based facilities to access medical assistance in dying. The article cites a 25-minute April 2023 ambulance transfer from St. Paul’s to a Vancouver Coastal Health hospice and notes a connected VCH 'Shoreline Space' was later built.

Transfers of patients from faith-based facilities to access medical assistance in dying (MAID) are the central issue in a trial before the B.C. Supreme Court. The dispute includes an April 2023 case in which a patient was moved by ambulance from St. Paul’s Hospital to a Vancouver Coastal Health hospice to receive MAID. St. Paul’s, operated by Providence Health Care, does not allow MAID on its premises. After that event, the B.C. Ministry of Health directed a lease adjustment so Vancouver Coastal Health could build a connected space for MAID adjacent to St. Paul’s. Key facts: - The matter is being heard in the B.C. Supreme Court and concerns transfers out of faith-based facilities so patients can access MAID. - In April 2023 a patient was transferred by ambulance from St. Paul’s to a VCH hospice and received MAID under a previously signed waiver of final consent. - Vancouver Coastal Health built the connected "Shoreline Space" next to St. Paul’s at an announced cost of $2.75 million and uses that space for MAID provision. - Provincial data for 2023–24 show more than 80 percent of transfers attributed to facility policies occurred within the Vancouver Coastal Health region. - Other health regions reported smaller numbers of transfers: Fraser Health reported 33 transfers from 2019–2025 and Island Health reported 26 transfers from 2017–2025; Interior Health reported a small number and Northern Health reported none in the period described. Summary: The B.C. Supreme Court case will address how far patients may be moved from faith-based care to access MAID and related questions about adjacent spaces. Undetermined at this time.