Mental health services return to Riverview
Coleman says province will finalize plan in the spring
VICTORIA — New mental health services will be part of a re- imagined government plan for the old Riverview mental hospital next year, says B. C.’ s housing minister.
While the full scope of a plan for the 244acre site in Coquitlam has yet to be finalized, it’s clear that some mental health component is necessary, Rich Coleman said.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that there’s a piece of this that’s going to deal with that,” he said in an interview.
“There seems to be really broad support on that and we’re in need of looking for some new facilities anyway as we come through it with health and the other ministries that are involved.”
The old Riverview mental health hospital opened in 1913 and grew to a peak of 4,726 patients in 1955 before being phased out in 2012. Some municipal politicians called on the government to reopen it in a more modern form to help tackle the region’s mental health, addictions and homelessness challenges.
The government won’t entertain reopening the old facility the way it was, Coleman said, because that basically involved locking up people with mental health problems inside a facility over a long period of time.
“Things have changed in that regard over time,” he said. “But there’s still some need for some ( mental health) facilities … and also some housing for people … so once they’ve got their addictions and mental illness under control through medical help, they’ll be able to live independently.”
Coleman said he’s already working with other ministries to address the province’s mental health needs in the region.
Kerry Jang, a Vancouver city councillor and professor of psychology at the University of B. C., said mental health needs must be met with a range of services, and those include long- term care.
“Any mental health service in this province has to match the current conditions of the illnesses we’re seeing out there,” he said. “In the City of Vancouver, for example, we see people with dual diagnosis — those suffering from both mental health and addiction issues. Those are inseparable.”
But Jang said there is also a need for long- term, “almost institutional care” for some people.
There is a place for long- term hospital care and the province needs to recognize that. KERRY JANG VANCOUVER CITY COUNCILLOR
“There is a place for long- term hospital care and the province needs to recognize that,” he said.
Vancouver has previously called on Victoria to provide 300 long- term mental health treatment beds, but Jang said the city is still waiting for action on that front.
“What happens at Riverview needs to be done in the context of other services around the city and province to make sure there is a continuum of care. That’s what’s missing. There is no continuum of care.”
Dr. Michael Krausz, the UBC- Providence leadership chair for addiction research, called the idea “a little bandage on a huge problem.”
He said hospitals are “underwater” because of the high volume of people with mental health needs who have nowhere else to go, and feared the plan would deliver far less capacity than what is needed for it to be considered a solution to the problem.
The Riverview lands include several old and unused buildings over sprawling acreage. BC Housing, the government’s Crown housing corporation, has held three open houses on the future of the land and a fourth is planned for the spring.
Several thousand people have participated, and the top suggestion from the public has been using the site for reinvigorated mental health and wellness services, according to BC Housing.
Coleman said the full vision for the land won’t be decided until after the last open house and he wants to continue to hear public ideas.
There are still some small- scale mental health facilities located on the Riverview lands. Most recently, the Provincial Health Services Authority opened a 40- bed temporary rehabilitation and recovery program at the Brookside and Hillside buildings, providing support and counselling services operated by Coast Mental Health.