Should B.C. hospitals have designated space for patients to use illicit drugs?

Photo: Colin Dacre

British Columbia will require every hospital in the province to have a designated space for patients with substance-use disorders to use illicit drugs after concerns were raised that an increase in such activity in prohibited areas of hospital grounds is putting health care workers at risk.

Health Minister Adrian Dix had announced this week that the province would create a task force to standardize rules across the province and create “active supports” to help patients manage their addictions while in hospital.

When asked Thursday by The Globe and Mail whether this meant requiring overdose prevention services or designated-use spaces in every hospital in B.C., the minister replied: “That is the purpose of the effort.”

The confirmation comes as B.C. nurses are speaking out about safety concerns related to patient drug use. BC Nurses’ Union president Adriane Gear said while there has always been some degree of illicit drug use in care spaces, it appears to have increased since B.C.’s drug decriminalization pilot began early last year.

Ms. Gear said members’ concerns have come primarily from the north, on Vancouver Island, and in the Interior, citing as examples nurses in Victoria reporting substance use in the perinatal unit, and a nurse in the Interior reporting being exposed to substance use twice in one week.

WorkSafeBC reports have detailed workers’ concerns over drug use in patient rooms and washrooms, drug paraphernalia visible in rooms and exposure to illicit substances by inhalation.

The task force, which comprises representatives from each B.C. health authority, public health and the Ministry of Health, was scheduled to have its first meeting this week.

It has been directed to standardize relevant policies and procedures across all health authorities, ensure consistent practices are in place in all hospitals, and ensure “the use of drugs is specific to designated spaces within or around the facility or under specific direction of the care team of where and when unregulated drugs can be used,” according to Mr. Dix.

“The idea that people who are severely addicted and, say, are involved in some incident which leaves them injured and requires admission to a hospital, are going to take that moment to simply not deal with their addictions is just not correct,” the Minister said Thursday.

“Our doctors, and our nurses and allied health science professionals, they deal with this every day. And our task is to support them.”

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