NDP's Shaw tables bill to create a pediatric hospice palliative strategy in Ontario

Shaw draws from loss of her sister to bring change for all families

QUEEN’S PARK — On Wednesday, Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas NDP MPP Sandy Shaw will introduce the Nancy Rose Act, a bill to create a pediatric palliative strategy in Ontario.

The namesake for the bill is Shaw’s younger sister, Nancy Rose, who passed away from leukemia as a child.

“Losing Nancy Rose at such a young age was heartbreaking for my family,” said Shaw. “Access to pediatric palliative care would have made her final moments more comfortable and given my family the opportunity to say goodbye — and, as a legislator, I want to make sure no other family in Ontario has to go through that."

Currently, there are only three pediatric palliative care homes in Ontario, located in Toronto, Milton and Ottawa. A 2012 Canadian study found that an estimated 81 per cent of children who could benefit from paediatric palliative care services were not receiving them.

Shaw’s bill will require the province to develop a paediatric hospice palliative strategy in order to ensure equitable access to care. The strategy would be led by an advisory panel of health experts and families of children in need of palliative care.

“I’m asking everyone, regardless of political stripe, to come together and fill this gap in palliative care to ensure that all children in our province have access to the care and comfort they need in their final moments, and that we stop piling struggles onto parents and families coping with tragic loss.”