B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions is praising a review of downtown health services conducted earlier this month by Northern Health.
The Downtown Prince George Health Services Review, publicly released Dec. 5, drew attention to gaps in health services for low-income populations, including populations dealing with addictions and mental health issues. The review recommended a number of measures, including keeping primary care health clinics in the downtown area open past 4:30 p.m., "co-location" of downtown health service agencies under one roof and ensuring all downtown service providers had adequate training to work with populations facing mental health and addictions issues.
B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy, in an interview with The Citizen, echoed the findings of the report. She said that the healthcare system, particularly in downtown areas of both Prince George and Vancouver, is prohibitively difficult to navigate for individuals with mental health or addictions issues.
"Our supports for people living with mental illness or substance abuse are fragmented, uncoordinated - huge gaps. We want to get to a place where you ask once and you get help fast," Darcy said.
She praised Northern Health for conducting the review and noted that the outcome of the report may be particularly important in light of the ongoing opioid crisis in B.C.
"I like the fact that they've brought everyone together because it will take the community to turn things around in the overdose crisis," she said.
The B.C. Coroners service released a report on Monday that found that, as of Oct. 31, 2017, 1,208 overdose deaths had been reported throughout the province, including 19 in Prince George. Eighteen overdose deaths were reported in Prince George in 2016. Forty-two fentanyl-related deaths were reported during the same period, representing four per cent of the total for B.C.
The downtown health services review noted that many Northern Health agencies operate in "silos," often failing to coordinate with each other. These health agencies consist of services delivered directly by Northern Health, such as the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program or the Car 60 program, which pairs a mental health nurse with law enforcement personnel, and agencies contracted by Northern Health, such as the Blue Pine Clinic, Positive Living North and the Central Interior Native Health Society. The review noted that care plans for clients are often not kept in a central database and that procedures for referrals were often not standardized, often resulting in frustrating experiences for low-income individuals seeking care.
"If you already are living with mental health issues and addictions issues or if you're homeless or inadequately housed, you already have huge challenges. To try and navigate a system that is uncoordinated when you have those barriers already in your life are very very challenging," Darcy said.
Darcy also said a similar review has been conducted by Vancouver Coastal Health of the 260 health agencies and non-profits operating in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
"They've certainly made some changes already [in the Downtown Eastside] and they have, for instance, consolidated the care - like primary care, access to doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses," Darcy said.
Darcy noted that both the Vancouver and the recent review process in Prince George began independently of her ministry and that no additional funding proposal has been received yet as a result of the Prince George review.
