MHSU Sprint: The home stretch!

Updated on: March 22, 2023

The home stretch of the Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) Sprint is fast approaching. Launched in July 2022, the Sprint was an intensive eight-month effort to advance priorities in four service streams. As planned, the Sprint will wrap up on March 31, after making significant progress towards all planned deliverables.

“The success of the Sprint is a tribute to the tenacity and dedication of all involved: the project teams, operational leads, executive leaders, physicians, and corporate services partners," said CEO Kathy MacNeil. “I want to particularly note Keva Glynn's leadership in driving this work forward."

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Sprint Areas of Focus:

  1. Improve access and reduce wait times for MHSU services in community;

  2. Accelerate the response to the Toxic Drug Crisis;

  3. Accelerate Indigenous MHSU priorities; and

  4. Improve access and flow in tertiary Child and Youth Mental Health. 

What's Been Accomplished?

Highlights of accomplishments in each of these areas include:

Improve access to community MHSU services:

  • Increased capacity to community-based counselling services for up to an additional 1,500 clients;

  • Improved access to walk-in and crisis response services in Victoria, Campbell River and the Comox Valley; 

  • Adding 51 new publicly-funded substance use treatment beds by late Spring 2023 – 15 of which are Indigenous led;

  • Established a day treatment program for mental health in South Island; Bridging Care will increase access to mental health services by providing timely and appropriate care in an outpatient setting. It is an alternative for clients who would otherwise be admitted to PES, inpatient psychiatry or require crisis services; and 

  • Established a day treatment program for substance use in South Island; the Journey program will provide intensive time-limited, group-based day treatment for up to 15 individuals experiencing substance use challenges, and increase treatment options and flow through the continuum of substance use services.

Accelerate the response to the toxic drug crisis:

  • Established a single access phone line for people looking for substance use supports;

  • Initiated text-based toxic drug alerts;

  • Established five physician-led quality improvement initiatives in clinics to improve retention on Opioid Agonist Treatment;

  • Increased access to Opioid Agonist Treatment in rural communities by training nurse prescribers;

  • Improved supports for patients presenting to emergency departments with toxic drug poisonings by distributing more naloxone kits and providing better linkages to after-care; and

  • Supported local innovation through 29 grants to community organizations and local businesses to develop creative, locally-tailored responses to the toxic drug crisis and foster youth resiliency.

Accelerate Indigenous MHSU priorities:

  • Contracting for 15 Indigenous-led substance use beds for Indigenous clients (in place late Spring 2023);

  • Deepened relationships with Indigenous communities, First Nations Health Authority and Metis Nation BC, and committed new leadership positions to continue this work in MHSU;

  • Developed an approach to work with communities and FNHA in times of crisis to provide a circle of support for individuals; and

  • Prioritized San'yas training to enhance our ability to provide culturally competent care.

Improve access and flow in tertiary Child and Youth Mental Health. 

  • Developed a model of care to support youth with severe and persistent mental illness - the first phase to establish day programs in South and Central Island is underway;

  • Determined the location for a new child/youth MHSU unit at Victoria General; work is underway with Capital and Operations to move this plan forward;

  • Created and filled a new Medical Director role for Child/Youth MHSU; and

  • Integrated virtual services to expand reach and ensure regional equity in existing services; specifically pre-admission and post-admission supports for children and youth admitted to Ledger.

​What's Next?

The progress achieved through Sprint will continue to be shepherded through MHSU's operational and strategic teams. While Sprint team members will return to their regular positions at the end of March, the work on these four streams will continue. An evaluation of the Sprint work will be available in April.  

With rising acuity and growing demand for MHSU services across communities, MHSU remains a priority for the Province of BC and Island Health. Services continue to grow in response to these needs, supported by targeted investments from the Province. We know we have lots more work to do!

As an organization, we have learned a lot through the Sprint process. In particular, we have seen what is possible when we set well-defined and time-limited goals, supported by focused work, and enabled by strong relationships.