Whereas social issues in the province such as the opioid crisis, mental health issues, the lack of affordable housing, and a shortage of family physicians has led to increasing pressures on fire departments to respond to first response calls; And whereas communities need more support and resources to deal with the impacts of the opioid crisis and mental health issues: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of BC to allocate resources to improve access to mental health supports, harm reduction sites, detox and treatment facilities, family doctors, walk-in clinics, community health centres and affordable housing.
Ministry of Health The Government is acting on all fronts to expand access to treatment and fight the toxic drug crisis so we can save lives and get people treatment so they can recover. Significant investments have been made to strengthen mental health and addiction services throughout the province. Since 2017, we have invested more than 2.6 billion in mental health and substance use support across the entire continuum. This has resulted in opening more than 750 new substance use beds and many new and expanded outpatient services. While expanding services, we are also implementing new provincial models of care, like the Road to Recovery R2R and the Opioid Treatment Access Line OTA Line that are making accessing care easier and faster. In 2021, Government opened the Red Fish Healing Centre RFHC. Through Budget 2024, we are working to expand the RFHC model across the province. In addition, several services have been expanded to support people who are in a mental health or addiction crisis including Community-Led teams trained to de-escalate mental health crisis situations; Mobile integrated Crisis Response MICR Teams also known as Car programs, while Assertive Community Treatment ACT teams and Intensive Case Management Teams are outreach-based services supported by robust standards and empirical evidence to provide services and support to people with severe mental health andor substance use challenges in the community. Work is underway to improve care for people with overlapping mental health and substance use challenges. In June 2024, Dr. Daniel Vigo was appointed to serve as Chief Scientific Advisor on Psychiatry, Toxic Drugs, and Concurrent Disorders with the goal of improving care, including treatment for people with overlapping mental health and substance use issues. Budget 2025 includes 500 million in new funding over three years for addictions treatment and recovery programs that are underway including the R2R, Foundry, secure care, supports for children and youth and Indigenous-led treatment, recovery and aftercare services. On September 15, 2024, the Province announced the launch of secure, involuntary care for people with complex mental illness, substance use and acquired brain injury who also exhibit challenging, high risk behaviours including violence. Furthermore, recognizing that everyone in BC deserves a safe community to call home and timely access to justice, Budget 2025 is investing 325 million in new funding over three years to provide housing options for people living outdoors and resolve encampments and to address public safety concerns, strengthen intervention services, and to make sure people have the support and treatment they need. Through Primary Care Networks PCNs patients are supported through a team of health care providers, including family doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, pharmacists, social workers, mental health professionals, and Indigenous and community providers. PCNs work with the community to develop local health care solutions to meet the unique needs of their communities, including mental health and substance use. A key focus of BCs Primary Care Strategy, and expectations of PCNs, is that they provide comprehensive, team-based primary care, including appropriate and timely care for people when they are struggling. This expectation includes mental health and substance use services delivered through screening, assessment and management of mild to moderate conditions, and ensuring effective transitions of care to the nearest specialized community services program as needed. More than 90 percent of BCs PCNs are recruiting to deliver these health services across primary care settings, including through family physicians, nurse practitioners, Indigenous health providers, mental health clinicians, clinical counsellors and social workers. Currently, more than 355 care providers have been hired in PCNs to specifically support the mental health and wellness of patients in BC communities this is on top of the family doctors, nurse practitioners and other staff supporting people every day. The ministry also supports the First Nations Virtual Substance Use and Psychiatry Service, delivered by the First Nations Health Authority, which provides Indigenous people in BC with virtual appointments with specialists in addictions medicine and psychiatry. Community Health Centers CHCs are designed by the community, for the community - every CHC offers unique services based on the needs of people living in the areas they serve. CHCs connect underserved people of the community who do not have a primary care provider with a family doctor or nurse practitioner in a community-centered, culturally safe environment. As of January 2025, the Province has committed over 35M in annual funding to support the 15 CHCs funded through the Primary Care Strategy 11 of those are currently delivering services with four in planning. Through the primary care strategy, BC continues to make substantial progress on connecting people to a family doctor or a nurse practitioner. Year over year, BC is attaching more people to a primary care provider in their community. More than 695,000 people have been attached to a family doctor or nurse practitioner in BC since the launch of the Primary Care Strategy in 2018. In the 2024 calendar year, 248,000 people were attached to a primary care provider in BC. The ministry, Doctors of BC and Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC continue to work collaboratively to further increase attachment rates and provider capacity to attach new patients.