Prince George City Council has approved a number of recommendations in regards to advocacy for addressing psychiatric care in the north.
Council approved the recommendations at tonight’s (Monday) meeting.
This came after three Councillors submitted a pair of notice of motions calling for advocacy on the issue at the last meeting, held on October 7th.
Councillors Garth Frizzell and Trudy Klassen brought forward one, while Councillor Kyle Sampson brought forward the other.
These were then amalgamated into one notice of motion for tonight’s agenda.
“Our healthcare system is significantly strained right now, especially when it comes to the mental health and psychiatric components of the system,” Sampson said.
“Hospitals are overcrowded, psychiatric patients are taking up beds that are urgently needed for other medical treatments, and are not best suited being treated, in some cases, in a hospital facility.”
Sampson also said he’s been approached by many members of the community who are in support of involuntary care.
“I think by no means is it appropriate for this table to sit here and debate what that level of threshold is for involuntary care,” he said.
“We’re not experts, it’s not our job and it’s not our level of government, but I do think it’s crucial that we advocate for the folks in our community who need those resources, whether they’re able to identify it or not, and let the experts decide.”
He added this would include advocating for the provincial government to consult with experts on the issue.
Klassen said there needs to be more voluntary options before advocating for involuntary treatments.
“I would feel that it’s inappropriate for us to call for increased involuntary admittance when we haven’t even had voluntary treatment options accessible and reliably available,” she said.
“I think that’s a wrong-headed approach to take, I think we should actually be advocating for more voluntary care before we begin to advocate for increased involuntary admittance.”
Councillor Tim Bennett added there’s a significant need for adolescent psychiatric care.
“I think that is something that whether it’s this facility or this facility then increases capacity at the university hospital, but we do need to make sure that we’re also putting a focus on psychiatric care for youth and adolescents,” he said.
Klassen was the lone Councillor opposed to the second recommendation, which was to advocate for provincial legislation based on expert consultation that would enable involuntary admittance to specialized, compassionate care facilities.
All other recommendations were carried unanimously.
Other items discussed tonight included a proposal for bi-annual town hall meetings, and an amendment for the City’s Sustainable Finance Policy.
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