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COVID-19 Information for Mental Health and Substance Use Professionals

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many of us work. These resources are here to support mental health and substance use professionals to safely provide excellent patient care through the pandemic, and in to recovery.



‎To keep patients, families and staff safe, we are strictly limiting the number of visitors at the moment to decrease the risk of COVID-19 being brought in to our sites.


In addition to limiting visitors, we are taking many steps to limit the risk of transmission and keep staff, patients and clients safe including:

  • Staff are wearing (personal protective equipment) PPE when necessary and always washing or sanitizing their hands frequently.
  • We’re cleaning shared spaces very often and very carefully.
  • Staff are safely disposing of items like gloves and masks to keep rooms and clothing free from germs.
  • Staff at only permitted to work at one long term care facility.
  • We are limiting the number and size of gatherings and outings. If a group or outing goes ahead, the size will be decreased to ensure there is a space two metres between patients to prevent the spread of infection.

 
The Ministry of Health has issued a framework for the use of PPEs in health care settings. The primary motivation behind the creation of this framework is to ensure best practice Infection Control and Prevention (IPAC) practices while ensuring PPE is preserved and use where it is most needed and clinically appropriate.

A procedure has been created for the application of these new PPE guidelines for BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. Please review these guidelines carefully.

 
Now more than ever, virtual health solutions are key to continuing to deliver safe, effective care to our patients and clients.

The virtual health team recently held webinars on virtual health enablement and using Zoom in the context of changes to the way we work due to COVID-19. The below resources contain useful information discussed at the webinars and answers to some questions raised there:

 
To keep connected with staff through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been holding virtual town hall meetings.
The town halls are an important opportunity to hear updates from leadership and subject matter experts and for staff to ask any questions they may have about how we are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic across BCMHSUS, and also get answers to any site specific concerns.

You can watch previous town halls in full through the following links:

 
 
SOURCE: COVID-19 Information for Mental Health and Substance Use Professionals ( )
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