Ebru Kaya

Palliative medicine consultant at Toronto General Hospital who is passionate about teaching and education in palliative care. Mother, wife, daughter, sister.

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

@LeonieHerx There is so much dignity as we near the end of our lives. Loved reading this article

[Alexander Raikin @AlexanderRaikin]

What's going on with Canada's MAiD program? Let's ask the physicians in charge.

This piece took a long time to report. I interviewed 50+ people. I went over two years of training seminars. And it turns out, MAiD in Canada is seriously flawed https://t.co/wdl21N0ucN

[Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine @CSPM_SCMP]

To all the the physicians writing the @Royal_College Palliative Medicine exam today, we’ve been there, we feel you, you got this! 💪🙌✍️ #PalliativeCare

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

@UHN_Supportive Thank you @UHN_Supportive! I'm lucky to be part of a wonderful and diverse team of clinicians, educators, researchers and administrators.

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

We need to ensure EVERY Canadian has the right to high quality, comprehensive palliative care. #PalliativeCare
Difference in access to MAiD vs Pall Care:

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

If only this was the case in Canada too

[Leeroy William @drleeroyw]

“Palliative medicine and nursing specialists can be expert guides, teachers, leaders, and developers of best practice, but improving end-of-life care is clearly everyone’s business.”

https://t.co/v0qUG7DhZf

[Leonie Herx @LeonieHerx]

Thanks @IAHPC for sharing this Special Advocacy Report. Wouldn’t it be amazing if other countries followed suit and funded universal access to #palliativecare ?! Better care and cost effective for the healthcare system.

[Kathryn Mannix @drkathrynmannix]

Thanks for inviting me to talk about the very end of life this morning @BBCBreakfast.
I'd love you to post a clip of that description of the dying process for people to watch.
It's so important we talk about dying calmly & with understanding.
Love & thanks to @bowelbabe.

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

That's a shame @ChristophLyon. If a pt's suffering is recognised and treated early we can make a huge difference to their QoL. Just as we wouldn't wait for cancer to spread before involving an oncologist, we need to do the same with palliative care.

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

Sadly other disciplines don't have to convince others of their value. I have spent hours agonizing with my colleagues at @UHNTransplant about how to explain to pts listed for Tx that palliative care will help them and not hasten death. https://t.co/N8fZvoCzz5

[Leonie Herx @LeonieHerx]

@LussiD @MoreauMD @EKpalliative @JMyersPallCare @SSRN As the national specialty society for palliative physicians, @CSPCP_SCMSP leaders like myself have frequently and repeatedly been contacted by distressed colleagues from across the country.

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

That's a good example @LeonieHerx. It helps to think about other instances where we work closely with other specialists / subspecialists.

[Leonie Herx @LeonieHerx]

@MoreauMD @EKpalliative @JMyersPallCare @SSRN We never abandon our patients. Are you saying if a patient goes and gets a procedure we do not provide in our specialized expertise eg colostomy, breast reconstruction, that we are abandoning our patients because that is not a competency of our specialty?

[Leonie Herx @LeonieHerx]

@MoreauMD @EKpalliative @JMyersPallCare @drleeroyw Evidence shows many people live longer with early palliative care, as well as better. So many clinicians associate palliative care with hastening death or giving up. This stigma persists and contributes to late referrals and unaddressed suffering, palliative care is MAiL not MAiD

[Leonie Herx @LeonieHerx]

@MoreauMD @EKpalliative @JMyersPallCare @SSRN That’s part of the problem - many clinicians wrongly associate palliative care with hastening death & we have been try to correct that stigmatization which causes a barrier to early palliative care referrals. It is exactly why they must be clearly distinguished.Pall care is MAiL

[Leonie Herx @LeonieHerx]

@MoreauMD @EKpalliative @JMyersPallCare @SSRN MAiL resonates with my patients, their families, & the general public. Most people (>95%) do not want to terminate their life with a lethal injection - they want to live the very best they can until they die naturally. Medical assistance in living is exactly what pall care is

[Leonie Herx @LeonieHerx]

@MoreauMD @EKpalliative @JMyersPallCare @SSRN MAiL also clarifies for people that palliative care does not hasten death or end life - this is core to the philosophy, intention & approach of palliative care. It helps reduce the confusion we keep seeing in the political & public discourse when people don’t understand pall care

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

@LeonieHerx @MoreauMD @JMyersPallCare @SSRN I have had pts referred to MAiD who thought they were getting palliative care. It's so important that we as experts work together to make sure people understand the difference.

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

@MoreauMD @LeonieHerx @JMyersPallCare @SSRN This is because palliative care continues to be associated with end-of-life care only. This perpetuates the stigma and is a barrier to accessing early palliative care. https://t.co/VPJtqqvi9w

[Ebru Kaya @EKpalliative]

@MoreauMD @LeonieHerx @JMyersPallCare @SSRN We would never abandon our pts. Just like if my pt with CKD 4/5 chooses dialysis, I continue to see and support them, when my pt chooses MAiD I continue to see and support them. I can focus on palliative care.