Mentally ill people are walking away from hospitals, committing crimes and taking their own lives in a city where agencies are still grappling with how to respond better to people suffering from mental illness.
The Vancouver Police Department reached that conclusion in a report released Monday as a follow-up to the departments 2008 Lost in Transition report that revealed at least one-third of police calls involved a mentally ill person.
The key finding of the first [report] was that a lack of capacity in the mental health system is failing Vancouvers mentally ill and draining police resources, the latest report said. Unfortunately, that tragically remains true.
Among the polices findings in the report titled Policing Vancouvers Mentally Ill: The Disturbing Truth were:
The VPDs attempt to refer mentally ill people through B.C. Mental Health and Addiction Services between January and November 2009 was a failure. Of 42 people referred, 19 ended up having their files closed with the agency and later resulted in a combined 619 contacts with police. Five of the people were victims of assaults, including a robbery.
Community based treatment is lacking, it cannot be described as a success and unfortunately the police concerns regarding chronic individuals in the community who cause harm to themselves and others carry little or no weight in the health system.
Between Feb.1, 2009 and Feb. 1, 2010, the VPD identified seven suicides by people who police previously dealt with for mental health issues. One person jumped off a bridge on the same day he was released from hospital. Another person did the same thing while out on a two-hour pass from a psychiatric unit of a hospital. Further research showed 487 suicide attempts by people who also had previous contact with police for mental health issues.
Between Feb.1, 2009 and Feb.1, 2010, the VPD responded to 126 cases of patients committed under the Mental Health Act at St. Pauls Hospital who walked away from the facility. Police responded to 104 similar cases involving patients at Vancouver General Hospital. Total police costs were estimated at $32,206.
The VPD released the report Monday afternoon because a copy was earlier leaked to a media outlet. Insp. Scott Thompson noted the report was a draft written last year and that progress was made in some areas, including more training for officers to recognize people with mental health issues who need hospitalization instead of a trip to jail.
The report pointed to the opening of the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions, new housing and treatment for mentally ill people at the former Bosman hotel downtown and a decrease in wait times at hospitals for patients as steps to better treat mentally ill people.
Lorna Howes, the director of mental health for Vancouver Coastal Health, acknowledged the criticisms of the health system in the report but said the agency is committed to working with the VPD to improve treatment and signed an agreement with police to do so.
It is challenging to see this in black and white and to go through it and think about what all the areas are that we need to be working on, said Howes, who attended the VPDs press conference at the Cambie Street station.
She said health officials and police are still focused on getting a 24-hour urgent response centre built in the city that would specifically cater to people suffering from mental illness.
Anne McNabb, the health agencys director of mental health and addictions for the inner city, noted there was an increase in intensive case management teams in the city where people are being treated in their homes.
We want to be able to support people in their communities so that they can achieve the optimum level of health, and thats what were striving to do, McNabb added.
mhowell@vancourier.com
Twitter: @Howellings
