The provincial government Wednesday (March 12) tabled what it called "long-overdue clarification" to the use of the Mental Health Act without changing the act itself when it comes to involuntary treatment.
B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne, along with Dr. Daniel Vigo, government's chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorder, announced a new "guidance document" clarifying the application of the Mental Health when it comes to involuntary care.
"This is not about making it easier to apprehend people or apprehending more people," Osborne said. "This is about correctly identifying those people who will benefit from involuntary care in the manner that Dr. Vigo has explained. At the same time, it is so important that we continue to invest in and build out that continuous system of mental health and substance use supports that are voluntary."
Vigo said the changes will help clinicians determine when involuntary treatment might be appropriate for people who are dealing with mental health disorders and substance-use disorders when their substance use is worsening their overall-mental health.
Vigo said the changes aim to dispel misconceptions about the use of act, including the misconception that substance use disorders not mental health disorders. Clinicians had previously disagreed whether substance-use disorders qualified as a sole reason for involuntary treatment, which lead to an uncertain application of the act.
"The problem is that we have not taken stock of the complexity of concurrent disorders and acquired brain injury in the context of addiction of these new (powerful synthetic) drugs," Vigo said. "For a time, there was legitimate debate about whether the Mental Health Act applied or not (to individuals dealing with substance use disorders). Now, in time, we have grown to understand that it does, and that debate and that assumption should be removed and that physicians should be allowed to treat people when they meet criteria regardless of the sub-type of mental disorder, which includes substance-use disorders."
Vigo said he expects the number of people currently receiving involuntary treatment to eventually decline by reducing the number of individuals undergoing involuntary treatment receiving treatment multiple times. He added that the changes would also re-direct resources to where they are best needed. He added about 18,000 people in British Columbia receive episodic involuntary treatment.
Vigo, whom Premier David Eby appointed last fall to research issues around involuntary care, presented the updated document as part of a broader update around involuntary treatment.
Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, questioned the extent of the changes.
"So the changes they have made today, will disappoint families," she said. "It's going to disappoint families who are hoping to have a long term addiction treatment for individuals, this announcement is actually not for that. This is for individuals with concurrent disorders of addiction and mental health, but they are not actually treating the addiction. They are treating the symptom of psychosis."
Sturko acknowledged Osborne is planning additional measures. "I really hope that she does," Sturko said.
