An internal British Columbia, Canada, government document obtained by Canadian Catholic News (CCN) through a freedom of information request shows doctors, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists in the province made thousands of errors in managing euthanasia in 2024.
According to the report of the Ministry of Health, more than half of all medical aid in dying (MAID) cases in the province that year were found to have had errors requiring government follow-up.
Page 3 of the “Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Oversight 2024 Year End Report” states 4,169 individuals requested MAID in 2024 — a nearly 10% increase since 2023.
However, a bar graph from the report indicates a total of 4,190 MAID cases in 2024. It also indicates the MAID Oversight Unit found 2,807 errors among 51.9% of “MAID case outcomes” requiring corrective “follow-up.” The report says “follow-up” means obtaining missing information or clarifying existing information.
Among these thousands of errors, 353 cases — or about 12.5% — raised compliance concerns and “required education” of practitioners and pharmacists “to ensure they understand legal requirements and the professional standards associated with MAID,” the report says.
Other data associated with 4,169 total MAID cases indicate 72% of these individuals died by MAID; 23% died of other causes, and 4% were found ineligible to access MAID. Only 1.4% of individuals withdrew their request.
The 2024 findings closely mirror those from 2023, which included 2,833 errors in the management of 3,808 MAID cases, as reported in The B.C. Catholic last year. These findings suggest that concerns identified in 2023 persisted in 2024.
