Interior Health will not expand Police and Crisis Team
Kelowna Capital NewsJul 04, 2020
Despite concerns over recent incidents between law enforcement and citizens,
Following a press conference this week held by the Southeast Division Chief Superintendent of the RCMP on the issue of police interaction,
"Mental health is a challenge being experienced across B.C. and
Her comments and the comments of Southeast Division Chief Superintendent
Browning is facing a civil suit for that incident. A petition calling for her to be fired and charged has garnered over 350,000 signatures. Currently, Browning remains with the Kelowna detachment on desk duty.
Haugli said he reached out to the CEO of IH to discuss the expansion of the PACT program in the
"My goal is to greatly expand this needed service (PACT) in existing locations and it is not always available, and introduce it in as many communities as possible," stated Haugli.
The PACT consists of a dedicated psychiatric nurse and a specially trained RCMP officer who patrol the streets and respond to calls.
Bloemink said the PACT team sees an average of four to five clients per shift in Kelowna, while in
"This model is not the most effective use of health care resources, especially when we know there is a much more significant demand for mental health services for the whole population," she said. "Mental health nurses are highly skilled, valuable resources and they are able to reach more people through team-based models of service where care is delivered in a proactive way."
According to Bloemink, team-based models are different than those that are based on responding to calls during a crisis.
"In those situations, when there is a crisis, we have an opportunity to work with our partners and make sure they know how to access emergency mental health services. This work is underway already – it is ongoing work with our partners at the RCMP and in communities," she explained.
Since 2017, IH has invested more efforts into intensive case management, assertive community treatment and community substance use treatment to engage people in treatment and to provide access to a team of resources (nurses, social workers, addictions workers and psychiatrists).
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