Fallout continues over allegations that homeless patients were discharged from Surrey Memorial Hospital and shuttled by taxi to Chilliwack shelters.

Premier John Horgan described the allegations from Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove sent to Fraser Health as sa国际传媒渟tartlingsa国际传媒� during his weekly media availability Thursday in the legislature in Victoria.

sa国际传媒淚f that is in fact the case, thatsa国际传媒檚 startling for me and I think startling for all British Columbians,sa国际传媒� Horgan said.

sa国际传媒淲hy we brought in a minister of mental health and addictions is so that we didnsa国际传媒檛 have examples like this, where we find cracks in the system, and those who have potential mental health challenges are left to their own devices.sa国际传媒�

READ MORE:

Popovesa国际传媒檚 letter criticized how hospital officials decided to discharge two patients on separate occasions last month and send them to shelters when they still required some level of care. One person was incontinent and the other had open sores on their feet.

sa国际传媒淎 homeless shelter is no place for a person with health concerns or special medical needs,sa国际传媒� Popove said in his letter to Fraser Health CEO Dr. Victoria Lee, adding Chilliwack struggles with its own ability to house its homeless.

Chilliwack MLA John Martin also broached the topic during question period this week, asking Health Minister Adrian Dix to pledge this would never happen again.

He asked how it could be that sa国际传媒渟ignificantly vulnerablesa国际传媒� patients like the ones described in the mayorsa国际传媒檚 letter could be dispatched to a shelter almost 80 kilometres away.

sa国际传媒淭he great people of Chilliwack do more than their share of heavy lifting on the homeless front,sa国际传媒� Martin said. sa国际传媒淚n short, they punch above their weight.sa国际传媒�

Dix said he would follow up on the circumstances. sa国际传媒淲e have very significantly increased our investment in health care in the last number of years but that doesnsa国际传媒檛 mean that in every case things are perfect.sa国际传媒�

READ MORE:

Fraser Health spokesman Dixon Tam confirmed CEO Dr. Lee had reached out to Popove that morning to review his concerns, which are being taken sa国际传媒渧ery seriouslysa国际传媒� and are sa国际传媒渢roublingsa国际传媒� for everyone.

sa国际传媒淲hen a patient is medically stable and ready to leave the hospital, we make every effort to find them suitable housing if they donsa国际传媒檛 have a home to return to,sa国际传媒� Tam wrote in an email.

sa国际传媒淚t is very unusual to transition a patient into a different community unless they ask for this, or if it is the only community with housing that meets their needs at the time.sa国际传媒�

Hospital beds are reserved for patients with the highest health needs, Tam continued.

sa国际传媒淎 discharge transition from an emergency room to a shelter would only happen when the patient is deemed medically stable, community services (if needed) have been set up, and if it has been agreed to by the shelter staff.sa国际传媒�

Fraser Health is working with BC Housing and municipalites to develop more options, he said, while making sure not to use hospital beds as an alternative to proper housing.

sa国际传媒�With files from Tom Fletcher

jfeinberg@theprogress.com
Like us on and follow us on .