The changes to Quebec's Act respecting end-of-life care earlier this month not only widened access to medical assistance in dying (MAID): it also permanently broadened the scope of what nurses can practice.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when medical resources were scarce and the healthcare network was forced to adapt day by day, nurses were given clearance to certify deaths -- an act previously reserved for doctors.
This authorization, enshrined in a ministerial order dated April 10, 2020, remained in force until April 2022.
But some groups in the health network argued the practice brought "fluidity" to operations, according to Luc Mathieu, president of Quebec's nurses' order (OIIQ).
He said the bill to amend the Act respecting end-of-life care provided the perfect opportunity to bring this measure back.
The move was successful, made official with the bill's adoption on June 7.
The law amends articles 122 and 123 of Quebec's Civil Code, enabling nurses to declare a death and sign the documentation confirming it.
"This will avoid all kinds of problems," said Mathieu.
"In the past, bodies of deceased patients had to be taken to emergency room garages to wait for a doctor to come and sign the documents," he explained.
In a press release issued when the law was passed, the OIIQ stated that a nurse who can "assess the physical and mental condition of a symptomatic person [...] may, as part of this assessment, conclude that a clinical death has occurred."
Nurses must declare deaths to the registrar of civil status and public health.
This authorization to declare deaths applies at all times, whether in hospitals, nursing homes or home care environments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 24, 2023.
