Service gap in B.C. correctional centres: audit

VICTORIA - An audit has found British Columbia's Provincial Health Services Authority did not consistently provide Indigenous inmates with mental health or addictions diagnoses with access to services they needed inside jails.

A report from the office of B.C.'s auditor general says the audit found "full care plans" were completed for fewer than half of 92 sample clients jailed in eight of the province's 10 institutions between January 2019 and December 2021.

It says the audit had to rely on the sample files because the health authority's current system could not produce reports on Indigenous clients' access to mental health and substance use services, constituting a lack of oversight and monitoring.

It found 93 per cent of clients whose files it reviewed were screened within 48 hours of entering the correctional system, and 63 per cent received services for all or some of their needs within 72 hours, while nine per cent declined help.

While the audit found about 80 per cent of clients received some ongoing services, close to 20 per cent had no care plan and received no services during incarceration.

The report released Thursday says the health authority has agreed with the four recommendations made in the audit, which are aimed at enhancing internal reporting and oversight of mental health and substance use services.

The audit found just seven per cent of the sample clients had discharge plans, although there was evidence of some planning for a little over half of those without one, such as continuing to receive medication or connecting to services in the community.

The office says it undertook the audit because colonialism and discrimination have caused socioeconomic inequalities leading to an overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system, and 90 per cent of those in provincial custody had a diagnosed mental health or substance use disorder between 2019 and 2021.

"This audit shows that the (Provincial Health Services Authority) must do more with its unique opportunity to help Indigenous people in correctional centres access mental health care and substance use treatments, and connect them to services after their release," auditor general Michael Pickup says in a statement.