Drug use in B.C.’s hospitals sparks feisty debate in the legislature

Safe supply and drug decriminalization in B.C.’s hospitals sparked a feisty debate in the legislature on Thursday.

At one point, the house Speaker had to call for decorum.

“You’re all warned,” Raj Chouhan said. “If the member is not paying attention, he will be kicked out.”

1:43 Nurse speaks out about patient drug use at Royal Columbian Hospital

The Official Opposition, B.C. United, called out the government over a string of stories about illegal drug use in hospitals, with users allowed to leave their beds for up to six hours without losing their spot.

B.C. United said the drug use is putting staff and other patients at risk.

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“A woman from Surrey has shared with us that her 90-year-old father was put in the same room as a drug user who tried to smoke meth while on oxygen, nearly causing an explosion,” United Leader Kevin Falcon said.

However, the government shot down an opposition call for an emergency debate on drug use in hospitals, saying the issue is already the focus of plenty of discussion.

“The honourable leader of the opposition who helped privatize security in our public health-care system, who downgraded security, who downgraded training and got rid of occupational health and safety is speaking out now,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said.

“We have a different view. We are supporting health-care workers across the public health-care system.”

A B.C. nurse told Global News about her experience working the front lines at Royal Columbian Hospital regarding drug use.

Chelsea Robertson is the latest to ring the alarm about open drug use and the challenges nurses and health-care workers are facing at hospitals.

“The patients keep (the drugs) hidden in their bag and then use them on site when we are not looking. I’ve seen that happen,” she said.

Robertson, an intensive care outreach nurse at the hospital, said that since the decriminalization of small amounts of illicit drugs in B.C., nurses have been dealing with an influx of overdoses and drug use in patients’ rooms.

“I spent most of my Christmas Eve up there, just pushing Narcan and trying to make sure everyone was safe,” Robertson said. “There’s just so many challenges in health care right now. It’s just another one to add to the table.”

2:13 Tackling open drug use, trafficking in hospitals

Dix has been adamant that rules in hospital settings need to be followed by patients.

“With respect to weapons … not allowed. Period,” Dix said. “And with respect to smoking (in hospitals), it’s not allowed at all. That doesn’t mean that these rules are never violated but what it does mean is that they are clear. The direction is clear (and) the rules are straightforward.”

— with files from Aaron McArthur and Darrian Matassa-Fung