Report shows B.C.’s 1 psychiatric hospital for accused taking more than it can handle

Citing limited space and high demand, an annual report by the B.C. Review Board highlights the urgent need for another forensic psychiatric hospital in the province.

Forensic psychiatric hospitals primarily serve individuals found not criminally responsible (NCR) or unfit to stand trial due to mental illness.

The board’s report shows that the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam took on just as many NCR cases in 2024 as the previous year, while the number of accused persons who were discharged has “markedly decreased.”

“The result is that the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital is under constant pressure as more new accused are being admitted to hospital than are being discharged… These competing demands on the limited bed space at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital have an obvious solution. A second forensic psychiatric hospital,” said the report.

Acting as the critic for public safety, BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko says the governing BC NDP has done the province “a disservice” by not opening another such facility.

“We’re dealing with people with some very serious and troubling mental illnesses, who also have a right to care and dignity, and they certainly haven’t been receiving that,” said Sturko.

She says the province also needs to implement more community-based programs to receive people who have been discharged.

“They have to keep them there, in this forensic psychiatric hospital, because there isn’t any available community-based programs, and that’s also a cruelty.”

Sturko says the B.C. Review Board is calling for a plan to scale up services for the forensic psychiatric system. Meanwhile, she says the province should do its own review.

“They should have been doing an assessment of the system, asking for a full-scale review, and determining where we emergently need to build up support services fastest to result in the best care for people with mental illness and to improve.”

In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio, the province says it is committed to building out support services.

“One resource is the Transitional Cottage Program, which provides psychosocial rehabilitation, clinical assessment, treatment, counselling, and support to clients who are re-integrating into the community from the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital,” said the Ministry of Health, adding that other community-based resources provide housing for discharged patients.

It says Premier David Eby has tasked Dr. Daniel Vigo, Chief Scientific Advisor for Psychiatry, Toxic Drugs, and Concurrent Disorders, to expand services.

“We are making meaningful progress, but we know there is still more work to do. Until people can access the right care, when and where they need it, we will continue to explore all options and work to expand mental health and substance use supports across B.C.”