Multiple fingers point to a ‘debacle’ unfolding at the psychiatric emergency service in Victoria, British Columbia
The Archie Courtnall Centre [opens to PDF], also known as the Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES), is connected to the ER at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital. Two years after its opening, the number of patients trying to access services at PES was overwhelming what was available. The clinical director resigned, saying the PES had “become the default processing centre for addicted individuals seeking treatment” due to lack of detox beds in the region.
Now, in 2011, the PES centre is again overloaded with patients, this time reportedly due to losses of inpatient beds for mentally ill adults. A consulting psychiatrist with Victoria Mental Health Services calls the situation a debacle—and says that administration and the Vancouver Island Health Authority are refusing to take responsibility for their role in it.
Tara Levis is a young woman who recently detailed her experience at PES in the Victoria Times Colonist. She is now a voluntary inpatient receiving psychiatric services—and she is blogging about her experiences at Recovery from Mental Illness through Bibliotherapy.
We speak with Tara Levis.
