Crisis response teams get more staff and operating hours

Crisis response teams are being expanded in Kelowna and Kamloops.

Interior Health and the RCMP announced today (Dec. 1) that additional staff will be hired in both cities and operating hours will be extended to 12 hours per day, seven days a week.

“When people are in crisis because of mental illness or addictions challenges, we want them to be met with care,” Sheila Malcolmson, minister of mental health and addictions, said. “Expanding the successful integrated crisis response teams in Kamloops and Kelowna will support more people in distress and connect them to help and healthcare.”

The programs will benefit from increased consistency in training, roles, reporting and evaluation.

The teams provide a specialized response to individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, when intervention by a mental health clinician is needed and there is no risk of violence. Together a specially trained officer and clinician provide short-term crisis management with assessment and intervention, help with admission to hospital, connection to other medical and social services, and other supports.

RCMP chief superintendent Brad Haugli commended the work of the committee, especially co-chairs, Jason Giesbrecht from Interior Health and Supt. Shawna Baher from the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP.

He said Interior Health and the RCMP are committed to working together to find solutions that support ‘persons in crisis.’

“Standardizing and expanding the existing integrated crisis response teams in Kamloops and Kelowna is the first step towards my vision of a model that has health clinicians available to support a police officer at every ‘person in crisis’ call,” Haugli said. “The RCMP want to ensure ‘persons in crisis’ get the help they desperately need.”

Interior Health president and CEO Susan Brown called it “a first step to enhance crisis response across the region.”

The additional staffing and expansion of hours is based on an analysis of call data.

Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas says the announcement is good news and complements other work underway in the city.

“We know that RCMP continue to face mounting mental health-related calls. Having professionals with the necessary training to deal with mental illness will help people in our community who are experiencing a mental health crisis,” Dyas said.

Interior Health also provides crisis response teams who get phone calls from community members and existing clients who are experiencing a crisis. These teams are the main contact for RCMP for requests to provide mental health assessments, including suicide risk assessments; substance withdrawal assessments; links to Opioid Agonist Treatment if required; and referrals to community services.