The rough handling of Mona Wang at UBCO in 2020 is an example of why programs partnering the RCMP with health care workers have been expanded.
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December 01, 2022 - 2:21 PM
After years of lobbying, Interior Health is adding four nurses to RCMP teams dealing with mental health calls in Kamloops and Kelowna.
Two nurses will be added in each city so the service can be provided 12 hours a day – from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. – seven days a week. The hours of service are based on the times when the most calls come in. Currently there is only one such nurse in each city.
Local politicians have been lobbying since at least 2018 to increase the nursing staff on these RCMP teams.
“Interior Health did commit to taking a look at both these services in Kamloops and Kelowna and there was a need to do some standardization,” Interior Health President and CEO Susan Brown said in an online news conference today, Dec. 1, in answer to a question about why this took so long.
“We had to identify what those differences were and how to actually have the hours of operation available when the calls were coming into the RCMP.”
READ MORE: Pressure building on Interior Health to provide nurses for RCMP mental health units
Kelowna already has one specially trained RCMP officer on each of its four watches, or shifts, so no more will be added there. Kamloops has two trained officers so plans are to add a third early in 2023.
The teams will answer calls to deal with people with non-violent mental health issues, help with hospital admissions and connect with other agencies.
In 2021, the RCMP’s Southeast Division took 17,484 mental health calls for service, a 16% increase since 2019, RCMP Chief Super Brad Haugli said at the news conference. There were 3,238, apprehensions in 2021, a 21% increase from 2019.
The program also has a new name: Integrated Crisis Response Team.
The program was started as Car 40 in Kamloops in 2014 when it responded to more than 600 calls.
Kelowna created its Police and Crisis Team (PACT) in 2017 in response to more than 4,000 admissions to Kelowna General Hospital for mental health and addictions issues in 2016.
Last fall, Penticton city councillors lobbied the province at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention to launch a Car 40 program in that city.
Brown said she met with Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield today to talk about that request.
Interior Health is looking at smaller cities to see if there is a need there and whether the same kind of model works in smaller communities, she said.
"The expansion of services in larger communities underscores the effectiveness of these resources," Bloomfield said in a news release. "Now the focus must turn to mid-size communities like Penticton."
He said he was disappointed Penticton wasn't included in the expansion but was encouraged by his meeting with Brown.
“As council sets its strategic priorities, the establishment of a Car 40 program that provides support to those in crisis and to those responding to the situation will be front and centre," Bloomfield said. "We need to use all the tools available to create a safer, healthier Penticton and stand ready to work with all our partners to make that a reality. “
— This story was updated at 3:47 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, to add comments from Mayor Bloomfield.
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