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 About Us
BC Mental Health & Addiction Services (BCMHAS) is an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), providing a diverse range of one-of-a-kind, specialized (also referred to as "tertiary") mental health services to people across the province.
Recognizing that people with mental health challenges may also have co-ocurring issues with substance misuse, the assessment and treatment of addictions an integral part of our programs.
Our programs comprise:
- Adult Tertiary Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry Services: Located at Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, near Vancouver, these programs deliver highly specialized mental health services to the most challenging mentally ill adult patients in the province who have had a referral from a medical professional;
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Forensic Psychiatric Services (FPS): Located at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam near Vancouver, and through six regional clinics across BC, FPS provides court-related psychiatric assessment, treatment, and community case management for adults with mental illness who are also in conflict with the law;
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Child and Adolescent Mental Health & Addiction Services: Located at BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) in Vancouver, these inpatient and outpatient programs provide a variety of specialized psychiatric assessment and treatment services for children (up to 12 years), youth (12-17 years) and their families from all regions of BC;
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Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program: Inpatient and outpatient assessment and treatment services for BC youth and adults living with an eating disorder are provided at BCCH (for children and adolescents) and (for adults) by Providence Health Care at St. Paul's Hospital.
In addition to providing direct services, BCMHAS takes a provincial leadership role, working with an extensive network of community partners as a support and a resource to service providers throughout BC. The agency also makes significant contributions in the areas of research and knowledge exchange in the field of mental health.
Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation for BCMHAS in 2007
Riverview Hospital and the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital under BC Mental Health & Addiction Services are the first health care organizations in BC to have been surveyed in 2006 under new CCHSA standards and succeeded in meeting the 21 required organizational practices to receive a three-year award - the highest award possible.
The CCHSA highlights our successes as:
- Linkages with research and educational organizations in combination with support for staff education;
- Empowerment of clients through our long-term connections with families, MPA advocacy organization and the Mental Health Legal Advocacy program;
- Excellence in clinical care demonstrated by the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, the Refractory Psychosis Program, the Hillside Rehabilitation Program and Forensic Psychiatric Services;
- Commitment by BCMHAS to staff and patient care throughout the on-going Riverview Hospital re-development process.
BCMHAS recognizes the incredible work that staff perform every day in providing care and services to some of the most challenging patients in the province.
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