A nurse at a long-term care home in Victoria has claimed that some patients are using illicit drugs, including meth, putting staff and residents in harm's way.Those living and working in The Summit, a newly built facility on Hillside Ave. and Quadra St. have also experienced an uptick in violent incidents involving the same population.In an interview with the Times Colonist, an Island Health employee who spoke under the condition of anonymity explained just how bad the situation had become."There's a handful of people that are the main concern who use illicit substances within the building," they told the outlet. "My biggest concern for a while now is the exposure to smoke, people smoking meth. There's also lots of verbal abuse and there's occasional physical altercations between residents, and times when staff are injured."They went on to claim that illicit substances purchased on the street were also being consumed in an outdoor smoking area meant to be used by staff and residents for their cigarette breaks, and that when drugs are used in that space, the smoke often wafts up into the windows of those who live in the surrounding units.The employee noted that aside from being addicts, many of the people in question also suffer from mental health challenges, meaning they need a higher degree of supervision. "We are catering to the few people that seem to get all the attention," they lamented, "and we are really forgetting about the vast majority of our residents who are regular folks who have worked all their lives and and come there and they are exposed to those substances and behaviours."While the province has made it clear in recent months that drug use at hospitals is prohibited, little has been done to enforce similar policies at long-term care homes. The employee argued that while the push to move addicts into such facilities was done with "good intentions," not enough thought went into mitigating the impact they'd have on the rest of the population.
A nurse at a long-term care home in Victoria has claimed that some patients are using illicit drugs, including meth, putting staff and residents in harm's way.Those living and working in The Summit, a newly built facility on Hillside Ave. and Quadra St. have also experienced an uptick in violent incidents involving the same population.In an interview with the Times Colonist, an Island Health employee who spoke under the condition of anonymity explained just how bad the situation had become."There's a handful of people that are the main concern who use illicit substances within the building," they told the outlet. "My biggest concern for a while now is the exposure to smoke, people smoking meth. There's also lots of verbal abuse and there's occasional physical altercations between residents, and times when staff are injured."They went on to claim that illicit substances purchased on the street were also being consumed in an outdoor smoking area meant to be used by staff and residents for their cigarette breaks, and that when drugs are used in that space, the smoke often wafts up into the windows of those who live in the surrounding units.The employee noted that aside from being addicts, many of the people in question also suffer from mental health challenges, meaning they need a higher degree of supervision. "We are catering to the few people that seem to get all the attention," they lamented, "and we are really forgetting about the vast majority of our residents who are regular folks who have worked all their lives and and come there and they are exposed to those substances and behaviours."While the province has made it clear in recent months that drug use at hospitals is prohibited, little has been done to enforce similar policies at long-term care homes. The employee argued that while the push to move addicts into such facilities was done with "good intentions," not enough thought went into mitigating the impact they'd have on the rest of the population.
