Yesterday, Health Minister Terry Lake released an action plan to respond to the immediate and long-term health needs of people with Severe Addiction and/or Mental Illness (SAMI) in all health regions.

The Minister outlined immediate actions that will be taken by Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care over the next 120 days, including:

• Development of a nine- to 12-bed psychiatric assessment and stabilization unit adjacent to the emergency department at St. Paul’s Hospital
• Creation of a new Assertive Outreach Team that is closely integrated with emergency and community services in Vancouver
• Two new Assertive Community Treatment Teams
• Improved information-sharing protocols between key agency partners
• An Implementation Committee comprised of senior officials from the Ministry of Health, VCH, BC Housing, Vancouver Police Department, and the City of Vancouver, will also work towards longer-term solutions for high-risk SAMI patients in Vancouver

These action steps build on a report submitted to the Ministry by VCH, entitled “Improving health outcomes, housing and safety: Addressing the needs of individuals with severe addiction and mental illness,” which looked at mental health and addiction services pressures across the region.

Working with our partners

Dr. David Ostrow, president and CEO, believes that the report is an excellent example of how partnerships benefit care. “Working with the Ministry of Health, we brought together clinicians, academics, researchers, government planners and operational leaders to develop and present targeted solutions,” he says. “Moving forward, we will continue to build linkages across all sectors, including other health providers, the community sector, as well as police and the justice system.”

“We recognize there are people dealing with severe addiction and/or mental health issues that need specialized and timely attention and support,” says Yasmin Jetha, regional director, Mental Health & Addiction program. “There are always opportunities to improve care which is why we undertook a review of our services and helped the Ministry to develop this action plan. The goals outlined in our report will move us toward a system that is integrated, innovative and assertive in engaging this complex and often marginalized population.”

VCH leaders worked with the Ministry of Health, BC Housing, the Vancouver Police Department, Ministry of Children and Family Development, Emergency Services, Provincial Health Services Authority, corrections, judicial system and non-profit partners on this review.

We are on the right track

We’ve developed services over the last few years to address gaps in the continuum of care, thanks to the hard work of our mental health and addiction staff. These services include Assertive Community Treatment teams, primary care outreach teams, education for police services, specialized mobile mental health response teams, harm reduction programs, inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment and more.

“We still have a lot of work ahead of us, such as establishing implementation work plans and timelines,” says Jetha, speaking about the next steps in the action plan. “But we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the progress to date, and to thank everyone who contributed to the report for their support and passion for this work.”

Support from the Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health will provide $750,000 annually to Providence Health Care’s Inner City Youth Mental Health Program to support a new Intensive Case Management Team to further enhance services available to homeless and inadequately housed youth aged 16-24. It will also provide $5 million to support VCH and the Provincial Health Services Authority to act on the recommendations this fiscal year.

Next fiscal year, the ministry will provide additional funding to all health authorities as part of an overall provincial approach totalling an estimated $20 million investment. Funding next fiscal year will include up to $12 million in matching funds to help regional health authorities further strengthen local services.

Learn more

The action plan is available on our website to learn more.