Patients are only admitted to Riverview Hospital by referral from a hospital. Once patients have been stabilized, they are discharged back to the referring hospital or to community-based supports and programs.

3. Are Riverview patients receiving quality care while redevelopment proceeds?

Yes. Riverview Hospital remains committed to the ongoing delivery of high-quality patient care in the most effective and effecient manner.

As the RVH Redevelopment Project progresses and patients/beds are transferred to new facilities in the health authorities, there is a corresponding reduction in the number of beds at Riverview. This means some wards will close, others will be relocated, and support services and programs will be consolidated and/or redesigned. However, remaining patients will continue to receive quality services and supports as the process unfolds.

4. How many and what type of beds are planned for each health authority?

When the process is completed there will be 400 - 500 beds in the Lower Mainland and 380 - 415 beds in facilities located throughout BC, including 25 tertiary acute beds (the provincial Refractory Psychosis program) to be operated by the Provincial Health Services Authority.

5. What is the difference between "tertiary beds" and "specialized residential beds"?

There are many variations and definitions for describing the specialized services currently provided at Riverview Hospital. For planning purposes, the RVH Redevelopment Steering Committee has identified the following general classification of beds: Tertiary Acute are the most highly specialized, one-of-a-kind services; Tertiary Rehabilitation are for patients with specialized needs who are supported with programs/treatments to stabilize their condition and prepare them for eventual reintegration into the community if/when appropriate; Specialized Residential are specialized long-term beds for patients requiring more intensive ongoing supports than are available in existing community residential facilities.

6. What will happen to the one-of-a-kind services currently at Riverview?

Tertiary acute, or "one-of-a-kind" services such as the Refractory Psychosis program, will continue to be provided. PHSA will be responsible for 25 tertiary acute beds, to be located on the University of British Columbia site in Vancouver.

7. Will there be rehabilitation programs for patients in the replacement facilities for RVH?

Yes. Rehabilitation services are included in the programming requirements for new facilities planned throughout the province. These are linked to the tertiary rehabilitation beds scheduled to be transferred to those regions.

8. Which agency oversees care in the community?

Each of the five geographic health authorities is responsible for providing a full range of mental health services regionally. Patients transferring from Riverview Hospital will become the responsibility of the receiving health authority where the new facility is located.

9. How are patients supported when they transfer to new facilities?

A detailed transition plan is developed for every patient identified for transfer to a new specialized mental health facility in the community. These transition plans encompass everything from the patients’ clinical, mental and physical needs, to their personal preferences and behaviour patterns. RVH clinical teams work closely with the clinical teams at the receiving facility to share this information and facilitate the transition for each patient. This includes transferring patients in small groups, over a period of several weeks so clinical staff can work closely with the patients after the transfer. RVH clinical team members also travel back and forth between the facilities during the initial transition period to support staff and patients following the transfers.

10. What happens if a patient doesn’t want to go?

If a patient or their family does not want to go to a new facility outside the Lower Mainland, they will not be forced to go. However, Riverview is closing and all its beds are to be transferred to new facilities. While patients may choose not to go to one of the new facilities opening outside of the Lower Mainland, they may in time be placed in one of the new facilities opening in the Fraser or Vancouver Coastal health authorities.

11. How are health authorities involved with the transition/transfer planning?

A comprehensive transition planning process takes place for each patient transfer. This includes clinical teams from the receiving health authority coming to RVH to assess each patient, meet with the RVH clinical teams and develop a detailed transition plan.

12. How will regions manage chronic and persistent mentally ill patients when they "decompensate"?

One of the goals of the Provincial Mental Health Plan is to ensure each health authority has the capacity and expertise to meet the comprehensive needs of people with mental illness within the region. As patients are transferred from Riverview Hospital to new facilities in the community, the financial resources are also transferred to maintain the same level of care or better within the health authority. Patients can move between the different levels of care within each health authority. If there are cases where clients decompensate (which means their clinical condition deteriorates), they will receive more intensive assessment and treatment from specialized mental health services in their regional health authority.

13. How much money will each health authority receive from RVH once the beds are transferred?

Funding levels to support patient/bed transfers have been determined by the RVH Redevelopment Project Steering Committee and the Ministry of Health Services. Each health authority will receive a general funding allocation based on the services to be provided, the types of patients being cared for, and the number of beds being transferred. These funding allocations vary depending on the size/type of facility.

14. What will happen to the Riverview Hospital site?

This is still to be decided. The site is located within the geographic boundaries of the Fraser Health Authority, whose planning includes mental health services located on the RVH site. This includes Connolly Lodge, Cottonwood Lodge and the newly constructed Cypress Lodge opening in January 2010. Shared Services of BC, formerly the Accommodation and Real Estate Services (ARES), owns and operates the Riverview lands. Until the health authorities have completed their planning and have determined their facility needs and locations, Shared Services is unable to determine the potential long-term implications for the RVH lands.

More questions and answers from the 3rd annual RVH Redevelopment Stakeholder Forum, 19 September 2005

Last updated 18 January 2010