Treatment
The Forensic Psychiatric Hospital delivers
services to patients using a Clinical
Program Model, which is currently best
practice in health care. Services are
delivered by health care teams to meet
the specific needs of the patients.
Patients are grouped by illness or other
needs; this model allows the team to
treat patients on units that meet the
needs of the patients on that unit. It
also allows the team to create a larger
and more closely knit multi-professional
team that include psychiatrists, family
physicians, social workers, nurses,
clinical pharmacists, psychologists and
rehabilitation staff. Additional team
members may include therapeutic leisure
services staff, vocational services staff,
occupational therapy staff, Forensic
Regional Clinic staff, and a pastor.
The 15 clinical programs at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital include:
Ashworth 1 – Male remand unit
Ashworth 2 – Specialized assessment and psychiatric intensive care program
Ashworth 3 – Neuropsychiatry program
Ashworth 4 – Severe psychosis/intensive management program
Dogwood East – Women’s program
Dogwood West – Geriatric/medically frail program
Elm North – Intensive rehabilitation program
Elm South – Intensive rehabilitation program
Hawthorne House – Pre-discharge program
Care plans are designed according to
the needs of the patient. The clinical
staff at the hospital are familiar with
all available medications and work
with patients to find the appropriate
stabilization medication for them.
The goal is to assist patients into
a successful reintegration into the
community. Programs include medically
directed treatment plans, alcohol
and drug counselling, occupational
therapy, therapeutic leisure services
and vocational services. A full-time
teacher is available to assist patients
with educational opportunities and a
Chaplain is on hand to address spiritual
needs of the patients as/if required.
The treatment team at Forensic
Psychiatric Hospital begins the process
of discharging a patient by first
determining the person’s readiness for
release and needs.
As a person with a mental disorder
goes through the legal system, their
symptoms may prevent them from
fully understanding the process.
The staff at the hospital is aware of
this fact and part of the treatment
is to help patients work through this
process to the best of their ability.
Patients are referred to the Forensic
Regional Clinic closest to their chosen
geographical location. When the team determines the patient
is ready, and when the appropriate
disposition from the BC Review Board
is in place, the patient may be granted
limited community access.
The patient
is first given permission to go out into
the community for a few hours on
staff escorted leaves and eventually on
unescorted leaves. Following this, the
team will develop a “visit leave” plan
in which the patient is allowed to leave
the hospital on a trial basis for up to
60 days (the duration varies with each
patient). Here again, the patient’s legal
order must allow for this.
The decision to release a patient
back into the community is made by
the
BC Review Board. Conditions of
release from the hospital may include
conditions of residence (whether the
individual needs supervised housing or
not), what level of supervision needs
to be in place, and abstinence from
alcohol or drugs.
Once the BC Review Board grants a
patient a conditional discharge, the
patient is discharged to the community
under the supervision of their clinical
team at their nearest Forensic Regional
Clinic.
When the BC Review Board grants
a patient an absolute discharge, the
patient’s care is transferred to the
nearest community mental health team
or Family Physician, depending on their
treatment needs.