As of March 31, the Province has opened 500 additional substance-use treatment and intervention beds throughout British Columbia, Health Minister Terry Lake announced today.

“We are committed to providing the best supports to help people with substance-use challenges,” said Lake. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to recovery, so we have opened a number of types of beds that work together to create a continuum of care. Each of these new beds represents a chance at recovery.”

In 2013, the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the health authorities, set out to create 500 new substance-use beds in recognition that additional substance-use services were needed throughout the province. A provincial steering committee made of representatives from the ministry, regional health authorities, Provincial Health Services Authority and the First Nations Health Authority worked together to guide the implementation of the beds.

Many of the beds were a result of a collaborative effort and thoughtful planning between the health authorities, municipalities and First Nations, as well as local non-profit organizations. Of the 500 new substance-use treatment beds created, over 80% were created in partnership with non-profits. In addition to partnering with local non-profits, many beds were developed with other key community providers such as BC Housing.

The following new beds have been opened in each health authority between 2013 and 2017:

• Fraser Health: 147
• Interior Health: 85
• Island Health: 93
• Northern Health: 30
• Provincial Health Services Authority: 14
• Vancouver Coastal Health: 131
  • Total: 500

The distribution of beds across the health authorities varied based on the population needs and targeted areas of improvement in each individual region. The beds were created with key populations in mind (including youth, pregnant women and new mothers, and people with concurrent mental-health and substance-use concerns). More than 16% of the beds were designed to provide culturally safe and appropriate services for Aboriginal people, with many developed in direct partnership with First Nations communities.

“It can be difficult for patients in need of or seeking treatment to find the support necessary for recovery,” said Dr. Evan Wood, director of the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use and professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia. “Expanding access to care, and ensuring the care provided meets the needs of that individual, is critical to effectively treating substance use.”

In addition to the 500 beds, the Province announced $10 million in January 2017 to provide better supports for long-term treatment and recovery in response to the overdose crisis. This funding will create at least 60 additional intensive residential treatment beds, 20 of which are for youth. It also supports the creation of 50 intensive outpatient treatment spaces, as well as one year of follow up care in the community.

Budget 2017 provided $165 million in additional new funding to targeted mental-health and substance-use investments to help address gaps in the system. The focus is to provide patients and families with better information and ways to navigate the system, and better integration and co-ordination of services throughout the province. The Ministry of Health spends about $1.45 billion each year in B.C. to support individuals and families in need of mental-health or substance-use supports.

Learn More:

For a breakdown of the 500 new beds by region: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/500Beds.pdf

To find region-specific information about substance-use recovery services and treatment, visit your local health authority:

Fraser Health: Mental Health and Substance Use (fraserhealth.ca)

First Nations Health Authority: Substance Use Prevention and Treatment (fnha.ca)

Interior Health: Mental Health and Substance Use Services (interiorhealth.ca)

Island Health: Mental Health and Substance Use Services and Resources (viha.ca)

Northern Health: Mental Health and Addictions (northernhealth.ca)

Vancouver Coastal Health: Substance Use Services (vch.ca)  

For further information, visit the following links at the BC Centre for Disease Control: Toward the Heart (towardtheheart.com) and Harm Reduction (bccdc.ca)

A backgrounder follows.