A tiny team of physicians says with a little extra space and a few more staff, it could be helping more than 1,000 high-needs patients on southern Vancouver Island. Since April, the Saanich Peninsula Outreach Team (SPOT) has been treating people with addictions, mental illness, chronic disease, or a combination of the three. SPOT’s medical director, Michał Pawlik, said the team has taken on 400 patients, but there are hundreds of others who need help. “There are a lot of patients on the Peninsula that are high-needs (and are) frequent users of the emergency department, frequent users of the hospital,” Pawlik told CTV News Vancouver Island. SPOT has two part-time physicians, who have been working out of the Peninsula Health Unit in Central Saanich, where Pavlik said they have access to only one exam room. “It’s just not sustainable for only two physicians to do this. It is really difficult work,” he said. In June, Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor wrote a letter to the Health Ministry, urging it to invest in expanding SPOT. “This work is being done in a region that lacks a dedicated addictions medicine clinic and has very limited access to community psychiatric services,” Windsor wrote. The letter was sent two weeks after the province began an assessment of its primary-care system to ensure it supports community-based solutions, including in rural areas. Once the assessment is complete, the health ministry said it will invest $15 million in creating or supporting community health centres. “We want to make sure that the value of SPOT is understood and that we are at the top of the list when they are considering those investments,” Central Saanich Coun. Sarah Riddell said. “They need wraparound support, nurses, social workers and then also the space to provide that care.” The Health Ministry said it will respond directly to the letter from council, but did not address whether it will provide additional funding. “In this challenging fiscal environment, we are doing everything we can to maintain existing service levels and prioritize frontline services, while continuing to work with partners to support the health and well-being of people throughout the province,” a ministry spokesperson said in an email to CTV News. SPOT helps people in communities across the Peninsula, including several First Nations, offering home visits, virtual care, and treatment at the clinic. “It is really a part of truth and reconciliation at work, but really, it’s the idea of humankind looking after humankind,” said SPOT board chair Mavis Underwood. “It’s not the full meal deal yet, but it’s getting closer to what we need.” Police waiting hundreds of hours in hospital The Central Saanich Police Service (CSPS) is throwing its support behind SPOT in hopes that an expansion could reduce the amount of time its officers are spending in hospital. In his letter to the Health Ministry, Windsor said over the past year, officers Central Saanich Police Service have spent up to 232 hours a month waiting for people they’ve apprehended to be assessed under the Mental Health Act. Sometimes, officers are spending eight hours of their 12-hour shifts waiting in hospital, said CSPS Cpl. Pat Bryant. “Our long-term goal is to create a team of health professionals and police working together to be able to meet the needs of mental health patients,” said Bryant, who is on SPOT’s board. If SPOT hires more staff, Bryant said the clinicians could work alongside officers during mental health calls. “If this comes to fruition the way I see it coming to fruition, it would reduce hospital wait times for Central Saanich Police,” he said. CSPS recently withdrew from Island Health’s Integrated Mobile Crisis Response Team. The team of mental health professionals and plain-clothed police officers provides crisis response on southern Vancouver Island. By developing a similar team tied to SPOT, Bryant said CSPS won’t have to rely on another agency, which is not available 24/7.
