British Columbia hospital memo raises safety concerns about patient medication use

A leaked memo from a hospital in the Northern Health Region instructing nurses not to prevent patients from taking illicit drugs sparked a storm of outrage in British Columbia's Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

The memo, sent last July to staff at GR Baker Hospital in Quesnel, BC, asks them not to search patients' personal belongings or take substances. It also asks staff not to detain visitors if they suspect they are passing on illegal substances, nor to confiscate weapons if they find any.

This came just months after a three-year pilot project decriminalised the possession of small quantities of certain drugs in the province.

While the province says the memo's recommendation is now outdated, the memo raised concerns among opposition politicians and the province's nurses' union about nurses' safety and well-being in the workplace.

“The entire memo is outrageous,” BC United MP Shirley Bond said during question time.

“When will the Prime Minister put the safety of nurses and other patients first and end his dangerous decriminalisation experiment?” Bond later asked.

Health Minister Adrian Dix responded that the safety of health workers is the province's highest priority.

“We said we had hired 320 relationship safety officers for 26 acute care hospitals and, in fact, we achieved those goals exactly in the time we said we would,” Dix said.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province is in regular contact with health-care workers to discuss their safety. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Jennifer Whiteside, British Columbia's minister of mental health and addictions, said the decriminalization pilot project is one of the tools the province is using to combat the deadly drug crisis that has already claimed thousands of lives.

“Ending this program will not save a single life, not a single life in this province,” Whiteside said during question time.

A Department of Health spokesperson said in a statement that the policy outlined in the memo has since been lifted and smoking or vaping any substances indoors is prohibited.

“The possession and use of controlled substances is prohibited for all patients in emergency rooms, on all wards where patients under 18 are present, and in psychiatric wards and rehab clinics,” the spokesman wrote.

The spokesman said staff are now being encouraged to provide harm reduction information to drug-dependent patients. He also pointed out that weapons are not allowed in Northern Health hospitals.

On Thursday morning, Dix reiterated that weapons and smoking of any kind, including drugs and cigarettes, are “absolutely not allowed” in hospitals.

“We are taking all necessary steps to ensure that our nurses and health workers are not police officers, they are health care workers,” he said, but added that he understands it can be difficult to enforce these rules in health care facilities.

“Healthcare workers must protect themselves and act in the best interests of themselves and their patients at all times.”

Demand for more monitored consumption locations

Adriane Gear, president of the British Columbia Nurses Union, says there needs to be a balance between harm reduction for drug users and the health and safety of patients and staff. She says some British Columbia hospitals are missing that balance.

“As nurses, we fully support harm reduction and also believe that decriminalization is important. Individuals with substance use disorders are better off in a healthcare setting than in a criminal setting,” Gear told CBC News.

“There is a caveat – harm reduction does not mean that reducing harm to the drug user must also result in harm to the caregiver or to other patients,” she added.

However, Gear said the responsibility for enforcing workplace safety measures should not fall on nurses. She said policies need to be changed to better protect nurses, including by providing more security guards and distributing more personal protective equipment.

She also says if hospitals allow drug use in certain areas, there should be more places for supervised use within acute care.

“If you want to smoke a cigarette, you have to go outside,” she said. “If you want to consume illegal substances, you have to go into this area.”

“Then it’s safe for that person, it’s safe for everyone.”

Weapons are not allowed, smoking is absolutely prohibited, whatever your