About The BC Neuropsychiatry Program

We are a tertiary adult provincial program located at distributed sites across the province of BC. Our partners include UBC Hospital’s neuropsychiatric inpatient and outpatient services in Vancouver, Hillside Centre’s neuropsychiatric inpatient unit in Kamloops, Delta Hospital Neuropsychiatric outpatient clinic in Delta, and the Alder Unit (tertiary regional longterm neuropsychiatric stabilization unit) in Vancouver.

Neuropsychiatric Population
Our target population includes adults with brain illnesses that cause serious disturbances in behavior, mood, intellectual abilities, or thinking processes, as well as those with psychiatric disorders that present as physical disturbances (somatoform disorders, somatic symptom disorder, somatization, conversion, and functional neurological disorders). Patients seen include those with Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, head injury, anoxic and metabolic brain injuries, Tourette’s syndrome, vasculitides such as systemic lupus erythematosus, stroke, dementias and other neurological disorders.

UBC Hospital Neuropsychiatry Inpatient Unit (Vancouver)
Patients are referred to the unit from around the province. The 10-bed inpatient program provides intensive assessment and treatment of patients with complex neuropsychiatric presentations who require and would benefit from the expertise of  an acute  tertiary inpatient program such as ours. Beds may be booked and held open for 24-48 hours for referrals living outside the Lower Mainland.

Many patients have physical disabilities and complex medical conditions. These patients often need access to specialized radiological  investigations such as MRI and CT Scans, as well as neuropsychological testing, all of which are available at UBC hospital. Patients receive psychotherapy, counseling, education, medication and support from the interdisciplinary team. ECT is available for appropriate patients. The unit follows a primary care model that is client-centered, and whenever possible involves the patient and their families in the decisions around their care.

UBC Hospital Neuropsychiatry Outpatient Clinic (Vancouver)
The outpatient clinic provides assessment, treatment and ongoing monitoring  to patients with neuropsychiatric conditions whose illness can be managed in the community. The clinic runs from Monday to Friday.

Hillside Centre Neuropsychiatric Unit (Kamloops)
Hillside Centre is a provincial facility and receives and treats patients from around the province. Hillside is a 12 bed secure unit providing assessment and treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric conditions who require extended inpatient stays to achieve psychobehavioral stabilization. Eligible patients have major persistent psychobehavioral problems that include disinhibition, intrusive aggression and or inappropriate behaviours. The unit follows a primary care model that is client-centered, and when ever possible involves the patient and their families in the decisions around their care.

Alder Unit (Vancouver-Coastal and Fraser Health regions only)
The Alder Unit at Langara Residence provides a 20 bed longterm stabilization service to meet the needs of Lower Mainland patients who have already received assessment and treatment in the acute and subacute arms of the BC Neuropsychiatry Program. Eligible patients include those requiring ongoing neuropsychiatric care and are unable to transition directly to existing Health Authority community resources. The purpose of the unit is to optimize functioning and maximize quality of life with the ultimate goal of enabling the patient to transition to a less-restrictive community living environment.  To this end, the Alder Unit’s aim is to provide a supportive setting with home-like attributes but within a secured environment. A supportive setting is achieved through the development of an interprofessional team providing specialized, person-centred care.

Locations:

Fellowship Program Information