What is hospice palliative care?
Who can receive care from Victoria Hospice?
Do patients come to Victoria Hospice only to die?
What services can Victoria Hospice provide to local hospitals?
How does Victoria Hospice support families and friends of our patients?
Do patients have to pay?
Is Victoria Hospice a religious organization?
Is Victoria Hospice just for cancer patients?
Where is hospice palliative care provided?
Where is the Victoria Hospice in-patient unit?
How is Victoria Hospice care different from other types of health care?
Who pays for Victoria Hospice care?
Who can refer a patient to Victoria Hospice?
What does the Victoria Hospice registration process involve?

        The sunflower is the international symbol of hospice palliative care.

What is hospice palliative care?
The terms hospice and palliative care are used interchangeably in most parts of Canada. Hospice palliative care - or comfort care - is an integrated program in which expert physical, social, emotional and spiritual support is provided to patients and family members coping with advanced illness, death and bereavement.


Who can receive care from Victoria Hospice?
Patients in Greater Victoria facing advanced stages of any progressive illness may register for Victoria Hospice care, providing that patients, family members and physicians agree and understand that the focus of care should now be on comfort (pain and symptom management), not cure. For information on registering with Victoria Hospice, click here.


Do patients come to Victoria Hospice only to die?
No. Many of our patients are admitted for a short period of time so that symptoms may be relieved or a one-week respite can be provided for caregivers at home. These short stays often mean that patients are able to return home with follow-up support from Home & Community Care Nurses, Home Support services and family physicians.


What services can Victoria Hospice provide to local hospitals?
We have close links to other local hospitals where we provide medical consultations and advice to patients, family members and staff in acute and long term care facilities. Some patients admitted to general hospital wards may be transferred to the Victoria Hospice unit if beds are available.


How does Victoria Hospice support families and friends of our patients?
Our Counselling and Bereavement programs offer support and counselling to partners, family (including children and teens) and close friends, offering help in coming to terms with grief. Practical advice about estates, wills and funeral planning is also provided. After a death occurs, our Bereavement program offers a variety of support groups and services for adults and children, and follows families of registered patients for one year with assessment, grief counselling or bereavement support groups as needed. Learn more about counselling and bereavement services at Victoria Hospice.


Do patients have to pay?
In general, there is no fee for Victoria Hospice services. However, as determined by government policy, there is a daily charge for our long term and respite care beds based on annual income, the rate determined by the patient’s Long Term Case Manager.  In addition, some bereavement services may have a small charge to cover basic expenses.   Since February 2001, the BC Palliative Care Benefits Program allows BC residents receiving palliative care services at home to receive at no cost selected medications, supplies and equipment needed for care and treatment.  Check with your physician, Victoria Hospice or your Home Care Nurse for more information on this benefits program.  About 50% of our programs are not funded through the health care system - we rely on community donations to help us reach our fundraising goal of $3 million this year.


Is Victoria Hospice a religious organization?
No. We have no designated religious affiliation. Our spiritual care services include:

Is Victoria Hospice just for cancer patients?
No. Approximately 70% of our registered patients have cancer. Other diagnoses include AIDS, circulatory, neurological, respiratory and other chronic and progressive diseases.


Where is hospice palliative care provided?
Hospice care is a philosophy of care, not just a place. Most Victoria Hospice patients receive care in their own homes. This is possible through our partnership with Vancouver Island Health Authority’s Home & Community Care Nursing and Home Support services. Our Victoria Hospice 24-hour Palliative Response Team (PRT) provides short-term crisis consultation and treatment for problems that might otherwise require admission to hospital. PRT is also available to support death at home. Victoria Hospice palliative care can also be provided in the beautifully refurbished homelike setting of our 17-bed in-patient unit at Royal Jubilee Hospital.   On any given day, over 350 people are registered with Victoria Hospice.  And our palliative care staff frequently provide specific medical consultations to patients in acute care and long term care facilities in the community.


Where is the Victoria Hospice in-patient unit?
Our in-patient unit is located on the third floor of the Richmond Pavilion (RP3) at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is a 17-bed unit consisting of seven acute care or assessment beds, nine long term care beds, and one respite bed. The goal for admissions to acute care beds is to provide active symptom management so that patients can go back home. For patients admitted to long term care beds, our unit in effect becomes their home. As with other long term care beds in our region, there is a charge for these beds, the rate determined by the patient’s Long Term Case Manager. Our long term care respite bed is used for patients who need to come into our unit for symptom control or to give caregivers at home a break, usually for a one-week stay.

Our unit is decorated to look as home-like as possible. There are 11 private rooms and three semi-private rooms. We also have a lounge, kitchen area, meditation room, solarium, rooftop garden and a ventilated smoking room (for patients only). Patients are encouraged to bring in personal items from home such as family portraits or a favourite quilt to make their rooms feel more comfortable. Visiting hours are unrestricted; children and pets are invited to visit as well (with family supervision).

To contact our in-patient unit 24 hours a day, click here.


How is Victoria Hospice care different from other types of health care?

Who pays for Victoria Hospice care?
As a registered charitable organization, Victoria Hospice depends on community donations for about 50% ($3 million) of our annual operating budget ($6 million).   Government funding and revenue from Victoria Hospice courses and publications support the balance of the program. Community donations support all Victoria Hospice services and programs not funded through government grants – counselling, spiritual care, bereavement services, coordination and training of over 400 volunteers, and a significant portion of our Palliative Response Team. The Victoria Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation is responsible for raising funds required to meet the expanding need for hospice palliative care in our community. You can help us by making a donation to support end-of-life care for dying patients and those who love them.


Who can refer a patient to Victoria Hospice?
Victoria Hospice works in partnership with Home & Community Care Nurses. These nurses are responsible for initial registration of our patients and ongoing coordination of care at home. Patients may register with us before actually requiring services. If there is uncertainty about the appropriate timing of palliative care, a Hospice Medical consultation can be arranged before deciding on registration. If a patient does not have a Home Care Nurse, the family physician can contact Central Intake and request a Home Care Nurse visit. If a family physician does not mention hospice palliative care, people in Greater Victoria wishing to explore this option can access community resources such as the Vancouver Island Health Authority General Enquiries toll-free telephone line: 1 888 533-CARE (2273) or Victoria Hospice Community Office (250) 370-8715 (Hours 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday – Friday).  The general public is also invited to attend one of our free monthly Hospice Palliative Care Information Evenings for more information about end-of-life care options in Greater Victoria.


What does the Victoria Hospice registration process involve?
A Home & Community Care Nurse provides detailed information to the patient about the services Victoria Hospice offers, and makes sure that the patient and family members understand that hospice care is palliative (aimed at comfort and symptom relief, not a cure). After consulting with the patient and family, she will request the appropriate Victoria Hospice services and will leave a "Palliative Care At Home" binder with the patient. This manual serves as the official health record and chart for recording care information, and informs the patient and family about services, care and the impact of progressive illness. 

For more information, read our Victoria Hospice Guide to Services brochure  or our current Annual Report.

Would you like to have your questions answered in person?  Victoria Hospice presents a Hospice Palliative Care Information Evening: Tuesday, February 19, 7-8:30 pm at the Salvation Army Citadel Church, 4030 Douglas at Mackenzie, off Pat Bay Highway.  A panel discussion led by a nurse and counsellor from Victoria Hospice as well as a Home & Community Care Nurse will address audience questions about end-of-life care in our community. Free admission, open to all, refreshments served, and volunteer drivers are  available for rides there and back.  Call our Volunteer Office at (250) 370-8727 to arrange a ride.  These Information Evenings are held on the second Tuesday of each month.  For more information about these public events, or other community events from Victoria Hospice, contact our Communications Coordinator Carolyn Thomas at (250) 370-8813.