B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix has responded to allegations patients at Vancouver General Hospital and Royal Jubilee Hospital are being discharged to benches and bus stops.
Vancouver resident Remi Caudron raised concerns about seeing security personnel escorting patients from the Vancouver hospital to a bench across the street dozens of times in recent years.
“It’s being used as a people dump,” Caudron told Global News in a Saturday interview.
Victoria resident Julianna, who asked that her last name not be used for safety reasons, said she’s witnessed a similar practice since 2020 outside the Victoria hospital, where she said security officers often bring patients to the bus stop outside her building.
“A lot of people would be begging for help when they were left at the bus stop,” she said on Sunday.
Hours after Global News interviewed Julianna, she observed four hospital security personnel walking a screaming patient to the bus stop early Sunday evening.
Video recorded by Julianna showed the security team placing the woman in distress on the bench before leaving.
Dix said hospitals in the province see 200,000 emergency room visits per month and that he doesn’t believe patients are being dumped outside.
“This issue is of what happens to people when they leave the hospital is of central concern to everybody who works in a hospital in B.C.,” the health minister said in an interview Monday.
Dix added that patients who are aggressive and/or abusive to hospital staff may be escorted off the property.
“There are circumstances where a patient for whatever reason is being disruptive and needs to leave and we’re trying to support them, but also have concerns for other patients for staff and everyone else,” the health minister said.
Hospitals are not designed to serve as hotels or shelter, and when asked what options staff have when a person without a home is ready for discharge, Dix said health care workers often work with a person to go over lists of housing that might be available.
“In the case of someone presenting at an emergency room, there’s a series of supports that can be given once you’re determined you don’t need to be there,” Dix told Global News.
Those include transportation incentives like bus passes and taxi vouchers.
Hospital staff can check on available shelter beds, Dix said, while social workers may be involved in assisting people.
BC United Official Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon said if he is elected premier in October, he would legislate the limited use of involuntary treatment for vulnerable youth and adults in compassionate, modernized facilities with 24/7 psychiatric and medical supports.
“When they’re incapable of making decisions on their own, we have to make sure were looking after them,” Falcon said in an interview Monday.
“You can’t just dump people at a transit station or a bus stop, especially if folks are struggling with mental health issues.”
Dix said expanding involuntary care to circumstances other than having someone certified under the Mental Health Act (MHA) is complicated because every person has rights in society that they can exercise.
The health minister acknowledged some form of involuntary treatment under the MHA is necessary – but otherwise said it’s not a solution to all the problems we are facing.
In the case of the patient brought to the bus stop across from Royal Jubilee Hospital Sunday evening, Julianna said she provided a towel to help the woman stay warm in the rain and cold while another bystander called an ambulance.
Julianna said two paramedics ended up transporting the woman back to to the hospital’s emergency department, where she believes she was reassessed by a nurse and admitted to hospital.
When patients with unstable housing are deemed medically stable for discharge, Island Health said its allied health team, including social workers, works closely with them and, if appropriate, their family or support network and community partners to develop a plan for a safe discharge.
That could include connecting people with housing supports or shelters.
Island Health said its protection services officers sometimes assist people who have been discharged get into taxis or help them get to the bus stop, but are not involved in the discharge process.
Security officers “would only be called in to assist staff in a situation where the safety of staff or other patients is at risk,” said Island Health in a statement.
Island Health added that in some instances and based on patient behaviour and actions during discharge, protection services officers “may be involved to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
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