The following has been sent to all Island Health staff, medical staff and volunteers on behalf of Kathy MacNeil, President & CEO
May 2, 2024
Last Friday I shared we would hear in the coming days more detail on provincial policy to build more robust safety supports and a stronger, more integrated, and coordinated care model in our hospitals for people living with addiction and substance use.
Today, the Ministry of Health released a new Substance Use and Addictions Management in Hospitals policy, which outlines the specific expectations for Island Health and all health authorities. Objectives of the policy include:
- A consistent approach in all B.C. hospitals that prohibits self-managed substance use by patients, outside of a designated overdose prevention service site.
- Improving how patients who are using illicit drugs or living with serious substance use disorders are supported in managing their addiction while in hospital, and providing more effective support towards stabilization, withdrawal management, treatment, and recovery services both while in hospital care and post-discharge into the community.
- Standardizing the approach to overdose prevention sites at hospital sites.
- Expanding and adding in-person and virtual addiction medicine specialists, psychosocial, and clinical teams to hospitals.
- Providing a culturally safe, anti-racist approach to care in hospitals.
- Increasing security in hospitals to support clinical teams by responding to problematic behaviours, aggression, drug use, and illicit drug dealing in hospitals.
- Providing improved education and training to better equip hospital employees and medical staff to develop care plans and work effectively and safely with patients who use illicit drugs.
As I mentioned in my note last Friday there are several areas of action for us to undertake at Island Health to implement the policy objectives. As shared in the new Policy, the work to implement the actions will not occur overnight.
We are launching a cross-portfolio working group to lead the work to bring the policy expectations to life. Where we can make change quickly, we will. Where the change work is more complex, we will take a little more time to ensure we do it well. We will also link with new provincial structures that are being established.
We are committed to engagement with staff and medical staff impacted by these changes as part of this implementation journey. We are also committed to doing this work in a good way – engaging with patients with lived experience, as well as Indigenous Peoples, to ensure we implement this work in a culturally safe way.
Engagement will begin next week, with opportunities for teams to learn more about the work ahead of us at Island Health and to begin to discuss how we can shape implementation in our sites and programs.
Care providers and those who support these teams have been clear with us on the importance of providing high-quality, compassionate care to some of our most vulnerable populations and doing this important work in an environment that supports safety for them and their colleagues.
I want you to know we see you doing great work today in challenging circumstances. We hear you on the need for improved supports in this work, and we are committed to making changes to support you and your colleagues and those you serve.
Over the coming weeks, we will see aspects of the Policy coming to life at our sites – the first being signage reinforcing that drug use is not permitted on site. Protection Services will continue to support and respond, through a trauma-informed and harm reduction lens, to any incidents involving the use of illicit substances, aggressive, or violent behaviour within Island Health facilities. Other work will include new clinical guidelines and protocols for care teams to use, expansion of addictions medicine consults and capacity, enhancements to security services, and more.
Thank you in advance for your commitment to help bring these important improvements to our hospitals. I am confident that through this work we will be better positioned to meet the needs of those we serve and improve safety for those who deliver care each and every day.
Kathy MacNeil
Island Health President & CEO