- After the request is received, an assessor will review your case, meet with you, gather all required information, and assess whether or not your situation meets the eligibility criteria for assisted dying.
- Under the new law (March 2021), an assessor must determine if death is reasonably foreseeable or not. This will determine which set of procedural safeguards must be followed.
- If death is reasonably foreseeable, a second independent assessor must then do an assessment of eligibility. If the two assessors agree all criteria are met, the MAiD procedure can then be planned by the assessor/provider. Sometimes an independent assessment of capacity may also be required.
- If death is NOT reasonably foreseeable, a second, independent assessor must still do an assessment of eligibility, but the assessment period must take a minimum of 90 days, and one of the assessors must have expertise in the condition that is causing the intolerable suffering. If not, an outside expert must be consulted, and their feedback must be shared between both MAiD assessors. Additionally, assessors must ensure you have been informed of the other means available to relieve your suffering and offer consultations for those means and services. The assessor must also ensure they have discussed the reasonable and available means with you, and agree that you have given serious consideration to those options.
- If your clinician is unable or unwilling to be an assessor for your case, they may refer you, or you are able to refer yourself to Solace or to the VIHA MAiD office (tel 250-727-4382; email: maid@viha.ca; fax 250-519-3669) for possible care.