The B.C. government is trying to ease a psychiatric care crisis in correctional facilities by offering to increase the salaries of forensic psychiatrists, Health Minister Terry Lake said Monday.
A severe shortage of forensic psychiatrists and beds at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam has resulted in mentally ill people languishing in jail instead of being treated at the hospital.
“We understand the challenge that they’re facing and we are working actively with the ministry and the Doctors of B.C,” Lake said. “Clearly there is a gap in remuneration between forensic psychiatrists and other psychiatrists, both within the federal government and within other parts of the system. So there has been an offer put forward to increase the salaries. That may help in the short term.”
Several years ago, forensic psychiatrists were paid more than general psychiatrists, but have now fallen behind.
The ministry is exploring other short-term options to alleviate the crisis, such as bringing in psychiatrists under contract. In addition, the ministry is working on long-term strategies with the Doctors of B.C. to make sure there is an ample supply of forensic psychiatrists, Lake said.
“We’re concerned, obviously. We don’t want anyone to be languishing in a correctional facility that can receive medical help. So that’s why we’re putting a lot of effort through the ministry and with the Doctors of B.C. to try to come up with both short-term and longer-term solutions.”
Court documents obtained by the Times Colonist last week reveal that on Jan. 29, Dr. Johann Brink, vice-president of medical affairs and research for the Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission, wrote to Chief Judge Thomas Crabtree to inform him of what he called a “crisis situation” at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.
Brink told the chief judge the hospital would request 30-day extensions to assessment orders more frequently and said it “may not be able to complete assessments on male accused persons in time for court.”
At the time, 21 mentally ill men were waiting to be admitted to the hospital. Of these, 13 were in jail waiting to be assessed.
Over the past four years, half of the psychiatrists at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital have left, wrote Brink. The hospital is operating with eight psychiatrists, but only one is full time and two are leaving at the end of March. Three full-time positions have remained vacant for several years.
Brink blamed the hospital’s inability to recruit psychiatrists on the “non-competitive nature of the compensation for forensic psychiatrists as compared to general psychiatrists.”
On Monday, NDP mental health critic Sue Hammell called the situation “tragic” and “unacceptable” and said Lake needs to deal with the issue to ensure mentally ill people are not in jail.
“Action needs to be taken because it’s about the patient, the person who is mentally ill, being put in a jail rather than in appropriate care,” said Hammell. “It would be unacceptable if someone with a physical ailment was put in jail as a place to look after them and it’s absolutely unacceptable that mentally ill people have to go through that kind of treatment in this province.”
