Patients consuming illegal substances have exposed Campbell River hospital staff to harmful smoke but Island Health says it has implemented safety measures to deal with the problem.

鈥淭here have been instances where staff in our hospitals, including at North Island Hospital 鈥� Campbell River, have been exposed to smoke from a substance,鈥� Island Health says in a statement made in response to a request for information from the Campbell River Mirror.

Smoking any substance is not permitted within any Island Health hospital, the Island Health statement says.

鈥淗owever, Island Health recognizes and acknowledges the challenges our staff face when some patients choose to use unregulated substances within a hospital in a way that violates the policies and care planning put in place to protect everyone.鈥�

The issue came to light recently during the Campbell River city council meeting on Thursday, Feb. 29 when a delegation appeared before council objecting to the provincial government鈥檚 Health Professions and Occupations Act (Bill 36) and sought the city鈥檚 support against it. During that appearance before council, physician and B.C. Conservative Party candidate Dr. Anna Kindy also offered anecdotes designed to illustrate problems with the healthcare system that lead to workers leaving the system and the province and a 鈥渃ulture of censorship.鈥�

鈥淪o, for example, I鈥檓 going to go back to the sort of policies that are enabling this to happen in the hospital,鈥� Kindy said. 鈥淪o a patient can be smoking crack or fentanyl in a room.鈥�

Kindy didn鈥檛 give a time frame but said three healthcare workers were sent to emergency because they were exposed to the smoke of the crack and the fentanyl.

鈥淎nd what was the response?鈥� she asked rhetorically. 鈥淲hen they went to the to the administrators? Did it go higher up? And do we need to change policies? No, it stayed local. And their response was literally to bring a gas mask for nurses to wear.鈥�

Meanwhile, if you smoke cigarettes in the hospital 鈥渢hey will call security, and they will confiscate your cigarettes, and you鈥檒l be in trouble.鈥�

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Island Health reaffirmed that smoking cigarettes or any substance is not permitted within any Island Health hospital. But the statement also says that, 鈥淭o be clear - at no point are staff directed to or asked to wear or bring a 鈥榞as mask.鈥欌��

Island Health says that as per the organization鈥檚 management plans and consistent with WorkSafeBC standards to protect all workers from any type of smoke, staff 鈥渁re trained to wear a full face respirator during an interaction with a patient when smoke or vapour is present.鈥�

In this kind of situation, Island Health is balancing two objectives, 鈥渆nsuring the safety of staff, medical staff, patients and visitors鈥� as a top priority while also 鈥渆nsuring all people are treated with respect and dignity and patients who use unregulated substances receive equitable and accessible care that is free from stigma and judgement.鈥�

鈥淚sland Health is committed to enhancing care and connection to health services for our community members, particularly in the face of the enduring toxic drug crisis,鈥� Island Health says. 鈥淧eople who use substances face multiple barriers to accessing programs and services; these barriers limit their opportunities to connect with service providers, whether for harm reduction supports or to learn about treatment and recovery options.

鈥淭hat is why we have undertaken significant work across the organization in recent months focused on providing staff with training and resources.鈥�

In addition, 鈥淚sland Health has developed and implemented specific education and training modules related to mitigating exposure to unregulated substances, and delivering harm reduction and clinical care for patients using unregulated substances. This training has been completed by more than 5,300 employees, representing more than 90 per cent of employees required to participate. The training is also mandatory for all new hires.鈥�

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