Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (the Partnership) partnered to deliver the Paramedics and Palliative Care program, bringing vital in-home palliative approaches to care to people in Canada living with cancer and other life-limiting conditions – when they need it and where they want it.

HEC and the Partnership partnered with diverse stakeholders to co-design programs, and as such acknowledge the value and importance of external resources, including Pallium Canada's Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) Paramedic course, Canadian Virtual Hospice’s MyGriefToolbox, and the local palliative care, home care, emergency health and paramedic services who continue to work to provide the best care for individuals, families and caregivers.

Teams

Ten teams across nine provinces participated in the Paramedics Providing Palliative Care: Bringing Vital Services to Canadians program.

The original innovator sites in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Alberta formed three of the teams. They participated as coaching jurisdictions and worked with HEC and the Partnership to spread and scale the Paramedics and Palliative care program to other areas of Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia participated as implementation teams. They were supported to successfully implement the program.

Advisors

The Paramedics and Palliative Care: Bringing Vital Services to Canadians program was supported by several advisors, subject matter experts, patient and family advisors and coaches. Advisors shared their experiences either as individuals and families who had lived experiences of receiving palliative care, or as professionals who had expertise in palliative approaches to care as well as healthcare improvement. For a full list of contributors, see the Paramedics and Palliative Care change package.