Media Contacts

Kristy Anderson

Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)

Backgrounders

Successful programs support those with severe mental illness and addiction

As part of the mental health action plan and the ongoing work of health authorities and other partners, programs serving people with severe mental illness and addiction are making a dramatic difference in their lives.

The number of ACT teams has increased from zero teams in 2007 to 20 teams in 2016, with capacity to support approximately 1,700 people. British Columbia is now home to 35 community-based outreach teams supporting clients with the most severe and persistent mental illness and addictions. Fourteen of these teams have been added under the mental health action plan since 2013.

Interior Health:

  • Two ACT teams in Kamloops and Kelowna were launched in early 2015 and serve up to 150 clients when at capacity.
  • During the first year of the program, ACT clients experienced a 73% reduction in acute care admissions, from an average of 2.3 admissions per client in the year prior to enrolment in the ACT program, to 0.6 admissions per client.
  • Clients also saw a 54% reduction in average length of stay in care after being enrolled in the program, from 16.8 days in the year prior to enrolment to 7.6 days in the program’s first year.

Island Health:

  • Eight ACT teams, serving 502 clients, were established between 2007 and 2015, helping to:
    • Reduce emergency department use by 40% and hospital days by 60% for urban team clients
    • Connect 446 clients with stable housing
    • Reduce police calls by 53% for clients of one Victoria team
  • Three new Integrated Case Management Teams, established between 2013 and 2015, have provided community-based outreach to more than 180 people with substance use problems in Mt. Waddington, Comox-Courtney and Victoria communities.

Fraser Health:

  • Two new ACT teams were established in 2015 for a total of four teams supporting approximately 300 clients across six communities throughout Fraser Health.
  • Since their inception in 2012 and 2013, respectively, the ACT teams in Surrey and New West/Tri-Cities have collectively:
    • Helped reduce emergency department visits by 59%, hospital admissions by 65% and average length of stay in hospital by 72% for Surrey and New West/Tri-Cities clients
    • Helped 75 clients connect with stable housing

Northern Health:

  • The ACT Team, established in 2009, serves up to 70 clients per year in the Prince George area and is supported by a new Integrated Case Management Team, which helps people to find appropriate housing and other community resources after admission to hospital.
  • A new psychiatric liaison nurse in Prince George saw 450 Prince George patients from April 2015  to June 2015 and helped connect 90 of them to community programs, avoiding admission to the hospital. Similar nurse positions are also being added in Fort St. John and Prince Rupert.
  • Launched in April 2015, the Car 60 program teams nurses with plain clothes RCMP officers to respond to incidents involving people with apparent mental illness or substance-use issues and get these people the help they need. Between April and December 2015, the Car 60 program responded to 600 calls.

Vancouver Coastal:

  • Two new ACT teams were established in 2013, for a total of five teams serving up to 420 clients throughout the Greater Vancouver area.
  • ACT teams clients in Vancouver have seen:
    • a 45% reduction in emergency department visits
    • a 51% reduction in violent offences
    • a 71% reduction in street disorder
  • Assertive Outreach Teams have seen:
    • a 50% reduction in emergency department visits
    • a 70% reduction in negative police contact
    • a 65% reduction in violent offences
  • ACT teams are further supported by:
    • a new Assertive Outreach Team
    • a new Intensive Case Management Team for youth
    • a new nine-bed Acute Behavioural Stabilization Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital
    • six new youth group home beds at Renfrew House

Provincial Health Services Authority:

  • Twenty new beds are now in operation at the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, with the opening of the new Acute Stabilization Unit.
  • Fourteen new rehabilitation and recovery beds on the Riverview campus have joined 26 beds moved from the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, for a total of 40 rehabilitation and recovery beds on the Riverview campus. These services have provided care to more than 50 patients since opening in November 2014.
  • Slated for late 2019, a new 105-bed mental health facility will replace the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, with an increase of 17 beds.