The call just got louder for a coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest into the overdose death of an Oak Bay teen as the former B.C. representative for children and youth weighs in with her support.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, now a law professor at UBC, adds her voice to the call after seeing the recommendations and action items that came out of the Vancouver Island Health AuthorityB次元官网网址檚 internal quality review conducted into the medical care Elliot Eurchuk received before he died.

Elliot, 16, was in and out of the hospital for four major surgeries in 2017, being prescribed highly addictive opioids each time. He developed a drug dependency and when his prescriptions ran out, he turned to street drugs. Elliot overdosed and died at his familyB次元官网网址檚 Oak Bay home on April 20.

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The VIHA internal review was recently completed, and while the actual report could not be shared due to Section 51 of the BC Evidence Act which prohibits the disclosure of opinions expressed as part of the review process, VIHA sent the Eurchuk family a letter with the recommendations and actions that came out of the report.

B次元官网网址淔ollowing an extensive quality review of the care we provided, we have implemented four actions specific to ElliotB次元官网网址檚 case to improve care for individuals in our care, particularly youth,B次元官网网址� wrote Victoria Schmid, Executive Director of Quality, Safety & Improvement at Royal Jubilee Hospital.

The actions included providing families greater opportunity to formally participate in reporting concerns, even where they may not have authority in care decisions for their loved ones; increasing care professionalsB次元官网网址� supports in balancing legal and ethical considerations, and supporting them in the challenges they face with very difficult situations, including the sharing of information with parents or caregivers; developing a patient journey map to better understand the course of care and improve linkages between the Emergency Department, pediatric unit and psychiatry, community supports - system-wide; a learning summary created from the review will be shared provincially with all health authorities to ensure that they are able to make improvements across the BC health system where applicable.

B次元官网网址淭he review failed to address the issue of consent. It talked about ethical issues, but these are actually medical legal issues around whether a young individual in crisis is capable of consenting,B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond.

Other provinces and places, she says, publish a guide to consent.

B次元官网网址淎nd almost always they identify things like mental health and addiction issues. B.C. hasnB次元官网网址檛 done that yet,B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond. B次元官网网址淭he Infants Act in B.C. has not been updated.B次元官网网址�

The Infants Act states that children under 19 years of age may consent to a medical treatment on their own as long as the health care provider is sure that the treatment is in the childB次元官网网址檚 best interest, and that the child understands the risks and benefits of the treatment.

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B次元官网网址淓lliot was in and out of emergency rooms - all kinds of professionals would have had to assess his consent and engage with the family. So what guidance did they use? What guidance are they using today?B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond. B次元官网网址淭he letter to ElliotB次元官网网址檚 parents didnB次元官网网址檛 respond to the situation.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think we are in a really important time of change. People are recognizing that mental health and addictions needs work. Some really solid recommendations could really help at this point,B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not advocating for young people to not have consent, this is about a specialized field for adolescent mental health and addictions.B次元官网网址�

In her capacity as a professor of law at UBC, she has been doing some legal work around the Infants Act.

B次元官网网址淚 get to see how the law is quite out-of-date in B.C.. It needs really open discussion and review,B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond.

B次元官网网址淜ids try to make these decisions for themselves. If they donB次元官网网址檛 want the help, there is nothing in our legal system that allows us as parents to get them the help they need,B次元官网网址� said Rachel Staples, ElliotB次元官网网址檚 mother.

While the internal reviews are valuable processes, Turpel-Lafond said, they are not processes for the purpose of public accountability.

B次元官网网址淭his is why I think the parents are fully within their rights, and we should support them as a community, to request a coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest where a jury of community members can hear all of the evidence and consider whether or not some fundamental changes are needed,B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond. B次元官网网址淐ertainly some of the ones that havenB次元官网网址檛 been addressed in this letter which is pretty vague and addresses some already long-promised things.B次元官网网址�

ElliotB次元官网网址檚 dad Brock Eurchuk expressed disappointment and concern around how the recommendations outlined in the letter would be implemented.

B次元官网网址淩ecommendations presented in a broad, diffuse manner can be difficult, if not impossible, for sprawling bureaucracies to implement,B次元官网网址� said Eurchuk. B次元官网网址淎ll health care providers require clear, effective direction that prioritizes patient care and a desired positive outcome.

B次元官网网址淧erhaps my disappointment in the correspondence and the report recommendations resulting from a review of my sonB次元官网网址檚 care is born out of my having a need for an apology and a clear acknowledgement of the health care systemB次元官网网址檚 numerous failures to care for Elliot. An apology from the various institutions that failed Elliot implies a need to react, to respond, to make improvements that will not let another preventable death occur,B次元官网网址� said Eurchuk.

ElliotB次元官网网址檚 parents say they are calling for a coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest to find out what systemic changes need to take place to prevent this from happening again.

As the former representative for children and youth, Turpel-Lafond said some of the most effective areas where change was made was when there was a coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest.

B次元官网网址淲e need to examine things to know what happened. The coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest is one appropriate forum and I think the request is a reasonable one. I think it could shed some very important light on whether the system can be improved,B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond. B次元官网网址淚 think this is a good use of public resources, and could assist and aid other families.

B次元官网网址淐onsent in the health care system requires a really close public examination, so I do support the call for a coronerB次元官网网址檚 inquest,B次元官网网址� said Turpel-Lafond.

keri.coles@oakbaynews.com