B.C. gov’t expands addictions care 

The provincial government is expanding its model of access to treatment and mental health care for British Columbians struggling with addictions.

Speaking at a press event Monday, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside announced the rollout of “Road to Recovery” — a model she says will establish a seamless continuum of care from detox to treatment and after care.

The province says the $154-million expansion will include adding 100 substance-use treatment beds and outpatient services in all health authorities, as well as the implementation of a single-access line to get connected to addictions care in each health-authority region.

Whiteside says there are many pathways that lead to addiction challenges, and Road to Recovery is equally multifaceted. She says the model prevents interruptions in care and brings connection, access, and trust to the process.

“All of these elements that are part of the systemic change that we are making in our health-care system to bring in mental health and substance use to ensure that we are treating people’s whole bodies, minds, and hearts themselves,” said Whiteside.

“This is the pathway to sustainability for these services and for this care, and it is so important to recognize that the one thing that might help one person isn’t necessarily going to help the next person.”

The province says treatment services can include substance-use counselling, medication-assisted treatment for opioids, alcohol-relapse-prevention medications, and bed-based treatment and supportive programs, but it doesn’t end there.

“Road to Recovery will help connect people to community after-care supports like day programs, life-skills classes, and peer-recovery groups to help them stay on their path to wellness,” the province said.

Whiteside says the model is proven to work, having launched it at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver last year. The single-access line there has received over 14,000 calls since October, she says.

“Of those calls — those calls get triaged — 3,300 people were looking for detox services. Some people had their needs met through outpatient services, and over 1,500 people have been admitted to bed-based detox services so far,” Whiteside said.

She says when patients’ needs were assessed as “urgent,” they were offered a bed within one day, and those admitted into the Road to Recovery were ensured longer-term treatment if needed.

One recipient of the care model at St. Paul’s, Philip Schulz, says he owes the treatment his life. He says the expansion is a step in the right direction amid a crisis in B.C.

“You see the crisis everywhere. It’s huge. And I think we need all the help we can get. And without that support, I don’t know if any of us could make it,” said Schulz.