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Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre
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  • Patients and Visitors
    • Directions and Maps
    • Parking and Transportation
    • Have an emergency?
    • Visitor Information
    • Preparing for Your Stay
    • While at RVH
    • Patient & Family Experience Office
      • Your Safety
    • Patient Records
    • Accessibility
    • Health Library
    • Going Home
    • Send Best Wishes to a Patient
    • Thank Your Care Team
    • Send us your feedback
    • Essential Care Partner Program
  • Areas of Care
    • A-to-Z Listing
    • Birthing Unit, Obstetrics
      • Breastfeeding
      • Cord Blood Program
      • Little Wonders
      • Maternal Newborn Clinic
      • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
      • Obstetrics Unit
    • Cancer Program
      • Indigenous Patient Resources
      • Virtual Visit With Your Doctor
      • Cancer Clinics, Procedures, and Services
      • Cancer Patient’s First Visit
      • Cancer Treatment
      • Palliative Care
      • Rotary Lodge
    • Emergency Services
    • Family Medicine Teaching Unit (FMTU)
    • Heart Program
      • Cardiac Care Unit (CCU)
      • Cardiac and Renal Inpatient Unit
      • Cardio-Respiratory Treatment Clinic
      • Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Program
      • Cardiac Intervention Unit (CIU)
    • Imaging
      • Nuclear Medicine
      • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
      • Ultrasound
      • Interventional Radiology and Angiography
      • Computed Tomography (CT)
      • Breast Imaging – Mammography
      • General Radiography (X-Ray) and Fluoroscopy
    • Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
    • Laboratory Services
    • Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)
    • Mental Health and Addictions
      • Adult Mental Health Day Program
      • Adult Mental Health Inpatient
      • Adult Mental Health Outpatient
      • Adult Addiction Services
      • Adult Mental Health Crisis Services
      • Adult Mental Health Medication Clinic
      • Child and Youth Mental Health Program
      • Child and Youth Mental Health Day Program
      • Child and Youth Acute Outpatient Services
      • Community Treatment Order Services for Simcoe County
    • Paediatrics
      • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
      • Paediatrics
      • Children Development Services
    • Renal
    • Regional Pandemic Response Unit
    • Respiratory Inpatient
    • RVH-Innisfil
    • RVH-IOOF
    • Specialized Seniors Care
    • Stroke and Rehabilitation
    • Surgery
      • Surgery Treatment Clinic (STC)
    • Transitional Care Inpatient Unit (TCU)
    • Treatment Clinics
    • Medicine Inpatient Unit
    • Indigenous Patient Services
  • About RVH
    • Who We Are
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • Our History
    • Board of Directors
      • Recruitment
    • Executive Leadership Team
    • Physician Leaders
    • Physician Directory
    • Awards and Recognition
    • Strategic Plan
    • Communication and Engagement
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at RVH
    • Quality and Safety
      • Accessibility
      • Accreditation
      • Accountability and Performance
      • Best Practice Spotlight Organization
      • Ethics
      • ​Infection Prevention and Control
      • Publicly Reported Indictors
      • Quality Improvement Plan
      • Wait times
    • Newsroom
    • Procurement
    • Art@RVH
  • Get Involved
    • Our Auxiliary
      • Auxiliary Businesses
      • Auxiliary Events
      • Give to the Auxiliary
      • Our Auxiliary Board
      • Our History
      • Our Impact
    • RVH Foundation
  • Careers and Volunteering
    • Career Opportunities
      • Why join RVH?
      • Our Recruitment Process
      • Benefits
      • Stories From Our Staff
      • Getting to Know Our Region
    • Volunteering
      • Volunteer Opportunities
      • Student Volunteers
      • Stories from the Blue Brigade
      • Frequently asked questions
    • Patient and Family Advisory Council
    • Physician Recruitment
    • Clinical Academic Affiliations and Student Placements
  • Teaching and Research
    • Education
      • Centre for Education and Research – Clinical Simulation
      • Clinical Academic Affiliations and Student Placements
      • Community Education and Events
      • Family Medicine Teaching Unit
      • Medical Trainees and Professional Staff Observerships
      • RVH Learning Academy
    • Research Institute
    • IPAC Hub
Home Areas of Care Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)

About

At RVH, we put patients and their families first. Through our MY CARE philosophy we are committed to providing the best patient experience, every time, with no exceptions. This includes respecting people’s personal decisions, including the right to alleviate suffering and to die with dignity by requesting Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID).

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) is available at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. While end-of-life choices are very personal decisions, there are some common reasons why patients request MAID.

Some patients may wish to:

  • Be free from pain and suffering
  • Control when and how death occurs
  • Avoid poor and declining quality of life

Click the image below to read the story of Lora Burke who, at age 94, had already suffered an excruciating bout with cancer and vowed not to have a ‘repeat performance.’ So she ended her life in a dignified, self-determining manner by enacting MAID. The story comes from RVH’s 2019 edition of Vitalsigns.

Medical Assistance In Dying is an end-of-life care option that an individual, with a serious condition causing long-term suffering, can voluntarily request.

Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) is when:

  • a physician or nurse practitioner administers medications, at your request, that will end your life, or
  • the prescribing of a substance by a physician or nurse practitioner, at your request, that when self-administered will end your life

At RVH, MAID is only offered by a physician or nurse practitioner administering medications. A prescription to be self-administered is not an option offered at RVH.

MAID is a complex and deeply personal topic. When making a decision regarding MAID, your healthcare team will make sure you understand your options and can communicate your decision. You will have time to think about your decision and may change your decision at any time.

While end-of-life choices are very personal decisions, there are some common reasons why patients request MAID.

Some patients may wish to:

  • Be free from pain and suffering
  • Control when and how death occurs
  • Avoid poor and declining quality of life

Medical Assistance in Dying is governed by the Government of Canada, for more information please visit Canada.ca

There are eligibility requirements to receive MAID.

To receive Medical Assistance in Dying in Ontario, you must:

  • be eligible to receive publicly funded healthcare services in Canada
  • be 18 years of age or older
  • be capable of making healthcare decisions
  • be able to provide informed consent, which means that you have given permission after you have received all the information you need to make your decision
  • voluntarily request Medical Assistance In Dying
  • have a grievous and irremediable medical condition, which means you:
    • have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability
    • are in an advanced state of irreversible decline
    • are enduring physical or psychological suffering, caused by the medical condition or the state of decline, that is intolerable and cannot be relieved

*Currently, Canadians whose only medical condition is a mental illness, and who otherwise meet all eligibility criteria, are not eligible for MAID.

To request MAID, you must make a written request by completing the Ontario government request form. The request form is submitted to your physician or nurse practitioner. Once submitted, two or more physicians or nurse practitioners must assess and confirm that you meet all of the eligibility criteria.

You can request MAID at a hospital, a long-term care home, a hospice or palliative care facility or your home. At RVH, MAID is only offered by a physician or nurse practitioner administering medications. A prescription to be self-administered is not an option offered at RVH.

For more information about how to request MAID in Ontario, including eligibility, please visit Dying With Dignity  for a comprehensive review of Bill C-7 or visit ontario.ca.

Once you have requested MAID and received assessments by two or more physicians or nurse practitioners confirming your eligibility, you will still have time to consider your decision.

You can withdraw your request at any time.

If your natural death is not reasonably foreseeable, you must wait at least 90 days between submitting your written request and receiving MAID. During this time a comprehensive assessment of your individual circumstances leading to your request for MAID will be completed to determine your eligibility to proceed. In cases where loss of capacity to provide informed consent is imminent and you have been found eligible for MAID, a waiver of final consent may be completed.

If you are eligible for MAID and death is found to be reasonably foreseeable then accommodation for a shorter wait time can proceed when the patient and physician are ready.

When MAID is provided, the physician or nurse practitioner will either administer drugs to cause death or will write a prescription for you to fill on your own. At RVH, MAID is only offered by a physician or nurse practitioner administering medications. A prescription to be self-administered is not an option offered at RVH. 

Before providing proceeding with MAID, your doctor or nurse practitioner will give you the opportunity to withdraw your request and get your final consent to proceed.

The Government of Ontario has made an information booklet on how to request MAID and the process of MAID for patients. You can read this booklet by clicking here.

Click here link to read the FAQs.

Click here to view the MAID brochure.

  • A to Z Listing
  • Birthing Unit, Obstetrics
    • Breastfeeding
    • Little Wonders
    • Maternal Newborn Clinic
    • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
    • Obstetrics Unit
  • Cancer Program
    • Indigenous Patient Resources
    • Virtual Visit With Your Doctor
    • Cancer Clinics, Procedures, and Services
    • New Patient Visit with the Cancer Program
    • Cancer Treatment
    • Palliative Care
    • Rotary Lodge
  • Emergency Services
  • Family Medicine Teaching Unit
  • Heart Program
    • Cardiac Care Unit (CCU)
    • Cardiac and Renal Inpatient Unit
    • Cardio-Respiratory Treatment Clinic
    • Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Program
    • Cardiac Intervention Unit (CIU)
  • Imaging Services
    • Nuclear Medicine
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
    • Ultrasound
    • Interventional Radiology and Angiography
    • Computed Tomography (CT)
    • Breast Imaging – Mammography
    • Radiology & Fluoroscopy
  • Intensive Care Unit
  • Laboratory Services
  • Mental Health & Addiction Program
    • Adult Mental Health Day Program
    • Adult Mental Health Inpatient Services
    • Adult Addiction Services
    • Adult Mental Health Crisis Services
    • Medication Clinic
    • Simcoe Muskoka Regional Child and Youth Mental Health Services
    • Simcoe Muskoka Regional Child and Youth Mental Health Day Program
    • Acute Outpatient Services for Child and Youth
    • Community Treatment Order Services for Simcoe County
  • Paediatrics
    • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
    • Children Development Services
  • Renal
  • Respiratory Inpatient
  • RVH-Innisfil
  • Specialized Seniors Care
  • Stroke and Rehabilitation
  • Surgery Program
    • Surgery Treatment Clinic (STC)
  • Transitional Care Unit
  • Treatment Clinics


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