Image: File image of Chilliwack General Hospital / Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media

By Shirley Bond, BC United Shadow Minister for Health

OPINION

YOUR PERSPECTIVE: NDP endorses open drug use in B.C. hospitals

Apr 17, 2024 | 8:00 AM

Every British Columbian deserves a safe workplace.

However, recently our BC United Caucus were provided with a memo, making it clear that the NDP has endorsed street drug use in hospitals. The NDP’s reckless decriminalization experiment is compromising safety – for the public and for staff – in B.C. hospitals.

The memo included several instructions for nurses, including not to confiscate drugs or weapons from patients and not to call the police if patients or visitors are trafficking illicit drugs.

Nurses across the province have been highlighting the impact illicit drugs are having on their health and safety. One such report revealed that methamphetamine had been smoked in a unit just hours after the birth of a newborn. Another nurse, having just returned from maternity leave, had to stop breastfeeding her child after being exposed to drug smoke.

The BC Nurses Union says conditions have escalated since the start of the NDP’s decriminalization pilot in 2023. In that time 36 health care professionals have reported drug-related incidents to WorkSafeBC – 14 of them were nurses.

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These issues impact our healthcare staff and jeopardize patient safety.

Still, the NDP government remains dismissive, minimizing the gravity of the situation. When this issue first surfaced, I asked Health Minister Adrian Dix to issue a directive to all health authorities to stop open drug use in hospitals and stop allowing patients to bring in weapons. He refused.

Rather than implementing a province-wide solution that would deliver immediate relief, David Eby and Adrian Dix have chosen to establish a task force. However, this task force will remain ineffective in addressing the crisis when enforcement is nonexistent.

Let me be clear, a Kevin Falcon-led BC United government is prepared to take urgent action to stop open drug use in all our hospitals. Through our United for a Safer B.C. Plan, we are committed to scrapping the NDP’s reckless decriminalization experiment that is contributing to increased risks to public safety.

When British Columbians look at the chaos in their communities, it’s clear the current approach isn’t working. Rather than using taxpayer funds to supply people with addictive drugs, we will implement a recovery-oriented system of care through our Better is Possible Plan.

By eliminating user fees for public treatment beds and providing funding for private beds, we will ensure that no one faces financial barriers to treatment. We’ll also create a virtual opioid dependency program and build a minimum of five regional recovery communities so that these services are available to people when they need it.

In addition, we will increase resources for those struggling with their mental health and invest in awareness and prevention so that families are better supported.

B.C.’s health care system should have never been put in this precarious position, where staff and patients have to be concerned for their safety. Seven years under the NDP have led to a health care system in crisis, but we have a plan that will restore accountability and ensure the safety of all British Columbians.

United, we will fix it.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of Fraser Valley Today or Pattison Media.