The mother of a Coquitlam man who died in a Sunshine Coast drug rehabilitation facility is outraged after the results of an investigation were released this week.
"I'm disgusted," said Michelle Jansen Monday shortly after a press conference at which the Sunshine Coast Health Centre Ltd. released a report into the death of Brandon Jansen.
He had been at the private drug treatment facility for just three days when he overdosed on a mix of fentanyl and heroin.
It was the 11th treatment centre Brandon had been at in his two-year struggle to kick his addiction to the powerful opioid fentanyl.
The investigation by Vancouver Coastal Health said the Sunshine Coast facility in Powell River had complied with licensing regulations and that Powell River RCMP determined Brandon had likely obtained the drugs that contributed to his death from another client who picked up the drugs while on a day pass.
He was found in his room by another client in the early-morning hours of March 7. Staff performed CPR until emergency crews arrived; no nursing staff were on duty at the time and naloxone was not administered.
Brandon had been on saboxone, a therapeutic treatment that prevents cravings, before entering the Sunshine Coast centre but was taken off the drug to go into treatment, according to the report. The centre's house physician did not yet have a licence to prescribe saboxone at the time of Brandon's death nor did the facility have authorization to administer the opioid antidote naloxone.
Sunshine Coast Health Centre's CEO, Melanie Jordan, said authorities were too slow to implement regulatory changes that would have meant the facility could have had the necessary life-saving treatments on hand that might have helped Brandon.
But Jansen said the report contains several inaccuracies, not least of which is the statement that another illegal substance found in Brandon's room and hidden in supplement containers was brought in by a family member.
"I'm disgusted they would bring this to a whole new low in trying to insinuate a family member brought in illicit substances," Jansen said. "The only person to visit Brandon was me. It's deplorable, it's hurtful and it's infuriating."
She said the fact that another client gave her son the drugs means there was a "complete lack of safety and security measures in place."
Jansen also claimed there were regulatory exemptions in place as of January that would have enabled the facility to have naloxone on hand and to have allowed its physician to prescribe saboxone, and that without such treatments on hand, the rehab centre should not have accepted patients with opioid addictions such as her son.
The report notes several changes have already been implemented at the Sunshine Coast centre, including more stringent admission screening and providing clients with information on the dangers of reusing opiates after detox at the time of admission instead of during the discharge procedure.
As well, the centre is building a medical detox unit that will keep new clients segregated from the rest of the population. There is also 24-hour nursing staff on site.
The BC Coroner's Service will also be investigating Brandon's death during an inquest in January.
BRANDON JANSEN FOUNDATION
Following her son's death, Michelle Jansen created the Brandon Jansen Foundation to help families like hers navigate the complexities of getting effective treatment for their loved ones.
Jansen wants to see a centralized resource centre that parents can use to learn about the options for rehabilitation and aims to one day open a treatment centre that "provides the level of care and resources that are so desperately required in this province."
In the meantime, Jansen's younger son, Nicholas, has also started a public speaking tour of high schools in the Lower Mainland to talk to teens about the dangers of fentanyl.
Visit www.brandonjansenfoundation.com or the foundation's Facebook page for more information.
