Palliative medical care is an important part of the team at Victoria Hospice. Those with end stage disease who are in pain, nauseated, confused or breathless require excellent assessment and management of these distressing symptoms to bring about relief.

Accomplishing this requires medical expertise uniquely tailored to each person who is suffering. The phrase "what can be done is not always what should be done" implies that expertise must rest not only with technical skill and knowledge, but also with compassion and good judgment as conditions decline and death nears.

There are several roles in Victoria Hospice medical care:

•	Victoria Hospice Medical Department:
	Palliative Care Physicians These are physicians with palliative medicine expertise whose work is either part- or full-time in palliative care. They provide care to registered Victoria Hospice patients in their homes and on our 17-bed in-patient unit. They also offer medical consultations to non-registered patients in other health care facilities, and to family physicians.
	Palliative Care On-Call Physicians These are local family physicians with a special interest and advanced training in palliative care. They are available on-call to provide care to registered Victoria Hospice patients outside regular physician staffing hours. These physicians enable Victoria Hospice to offer 24-hour medical backup for family physicians and Home Care Nurses.   Our Victoria Hospice Palliative Care: Medical Intensive course meets the accreditation criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and is accredited for 27.5 hours MAINPRO-M1 credits. Our Psychosocial Care of the Dying and Bereaved course is accredited for 28 hours MAINPRO-M1 credits.  For more information or to get on our mailing list for future courses, contact Course Registration Coordinator Kristen Stanbridge at (250) 370-8283         Download Adobe Acrobat to view the course brochures
•	Family Physicians:
	Most patients have a family doctor to turn to for medical care and support throughout their lives. In palliative care and end-of-life care, the family physician continues to be involved, whether the patient is at home or in the Victoria Hospice Palliative Care Unit. In this way, many find their journey eased by a physician who brings familiarity, continuity and trust.
•	Specialists in various medical fields:
	Most patients have been or continue to be cared for by specialists through much of the earlier stages of illness. Palliative medical care does involve some active treatments aimed at reducing pain and suffering. Depending on the type of illness, patients may be seen by oncologists, surgeons, respirologists, gastroenterologists or other specialists.

Helpful Clinical Tools:

The Victoria Hospice Palliative Performance Scale (PPS, version 2) is an 11-point scale designed to measure patients' performance status in 10% decrements from 100% (healthy) to 0% (death) based on five observable parameters: ambulation, ability to do activities, self-care, food/fluid intake, and consciousness level.  You can download the Victoria Hospice Palliative Performance Scale here in English,  French, Japanese or Thai

You can also print these Victoria Hospice clinical tools:  

Dr. Fraser Black, BSc, MD, CCFP
Medical Director;   Clinical Instructor, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Practice, Division of Palliative Care

Dr. G. Michael Downing, MD
Director, Research & Development
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Practice, Division of Palliative Care; Palliative Medicine Consultant, BC Cancer Agency


Dr. Deb Braithwaite, MD, FCFP
Palliative Care Physician

Dr. Christine Jones, BSc, MD, CCFP
Palliative Care Physician

Dr. Gail Saiger, MD
Palliative Care Physician

Dr. Jim Wilde, MB, ChB
Palliative Care Physician
Clinical Instructor, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Practice, Division of Palliative Care; Palliative Medicine Consultant, BC Cancer Agency.

To arrange professional training or site visits of the Victoria Hospice in-patient unit, contact our
Manager of Education Service Brenda Pengelly
at (250) 370-8952