Minister of Mental Health & Addictions agrees with author of report on youth mental health treatment

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Public meetings ‘lacking’ for health authorities during pandemic

B.C.'s Minister of Health says he will "have a word" with the province's health authorities about a lack of public meetings. The Board of Directors at Island Health has not held a public meeting in a year. Previously, the board would hold three or four public meetings annually but all of that changed with the pandemic. Adrian Dix says the work done by Health Authority boards over the past year has been "exceptional," but he says he understands how suspending all public meetings during that time might raise some concerns.

"The nature of COVID-19 and the intensity of the work has meant that some things that are very important as well, including public meetings haven't happened as much as we'd like, or as you describe in Island Health, at all and we'd obviously like to get back to that and that is an issue that I can raise with the chairs of the health authorities.”—Minister of Health Adrian Dix.

Meanwhile, Island Health's board chair, and former deputy minister of health Leah Hollins, has not responded to several requests for comment. Island Health's media relations department has not said when a public meeting will be held but in a written reply, it said the board is still working on some of the logistics of holding a virtual public meeting. It also said the board held closed, in-camera meetings over the past year, and it is not aware of any requirement to hold public board meetings.

Improvements needed in treatment of mental health

The province says it is committed to improving how the health care system deals with young people who are involuntarily committed to hospitals for mental health treatment. A newly released report by BC's Representative for Children and Youth found an alarming 162% increase in the number of youth committed for treatment without consent between 2008 and 2018. The report's author says she is concerned there is no legislation or regulations to guide the use of restraint, drugging or confinement measures. Jennifer Charlesworth says involuntary committal to hospital should only be used as a last resort.

The Minister of Mental Health and Addictions agrees. Sheila Malcolmson says her goal is to increase community-based programs while improving the way treatment in hospital is delivered.

"We are determined as a government to work with First Nations leadership, with families, with health care workers and with youth to make sure they get the most healing out of the time they are in hospital and that's a very high priority for our government and work that we must do quickly."—Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson.

The representative's report sets out deadlines in late 2021 and throughout 2022 to implement its 14 recommendations. They include the creation of culturally sensitive and trauma-informed treatment to the establishment of a patient's rights advocate and review board.