It looks like the announcements about the addition of complex care beds and changes to the Car 40 program in Kamloops are coming tomorrow, December 1st.
This is when Interior Health will make an announcement with the RCMP about its mental health crisis response plan.
It comes after comments made by Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson during his mayoral report at Tuesday’s council meeting.
“We now have four of the 20 complex care beds [that] They are going to open in December or early January. I have also met with complex care operators to see what kind of operation they run and things like that,” he said.
I have also spoken to [IH President and CEO] Susan Brown on the new Auto 40. They’re going to have the announcement here next week.”
When asked for clarification by the NL Morning News today, this is what Hamer-Jackson had to say.
“I called Susan Brown and apologized because it’s not my place to announce things that are going to happen, so I better not talk about it and maybe wait until Interior Health wants to announce it,” he said.
The Kamloops Mounted Police and local politicians have long called for a second Car 40 program to be implemented in the town. It pairs a mental health nurse with an RCMP officer when it comes to answering calls involving mental health situations, but it only operates four days a week and during the day.
It is unclear if there will be a change to the operating hours of the Kamloops Car 40 program or if it will be renamed.
as for complex care housingintended to address the needs of people with overlapping mental health, substance use issues, trauma and brain injury, who are often left homeless, was in March when BC said it was working with Interior HealthBC Housing and other local service providers to get you to Kamloops and Kelowna.
In January this year, the then Attorney General, now Prime Minister David Eby, told the former Kamloops council that Kamloops was a ‘priority’ for complex care beds.
In an email to NL News, Interior Health said it is “so grateful for our committed mayor” as they continue to plan for services that meet the needs of Kamloops residents.
“While we like to coordinate announcements to get everyone involved, there’s no need for an apology,” said Michaela Swan, referring to the mayor’s call to Susan Brown.
“At the end of the day, it’s no secret that there’s ongoing work to grow services to meet needs, and it’s about IH working collaboratively with CoK to design and meet these very important community needs.”
As for upcoming announcements, he said, “Interior Health continues to work with the City of Kamloops to discuss opportunities to provide services to support people experiencing a mental health crisis,” he said. “On Thursday, Homeland Health and the RCMP will share more information.”
“Regarding complex care housing, Interior Health has been planning these new services for some time and will provide an update when services are closer to opening.”
.
