The Car 40 service in Kamloops was used three-times as much this past summer, compared to the summer of 2019.

It pairs a mental health worker with an RCMP officer when responding to mental health calls.

There were 291 Car 40 interventions in Kamloops between July 1 and Sept. 30, compared to just 93 in those same months of 2019. Those responses would’ve only happened between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. between Tuesdays and Fridays, which is the only times the service is available.

Interior Health chief medical health officer, Dr. Albert de Villiers, says COVID-19 has exacerbated mental health issues.

“We have definitely seen an impact on the mental health of the residents of the Interior, all of B.C. and of Canada, and potentially all over the world as well. Because we know, due to the isolation, and it’s a little bit worse now with the new orders coming in, unfortunately it is needed to actually stop the disease. But we know there are some unintended consequences as well,” De Villiers says.

“Increasing loneliness, and people who had services before maybe have a little bit less access to services now, or they’ve got the perception that they cannot get out and go to services. We are trying to keep all the services awake and alive, making sure we can still reach those people.”

Several Kamloops councillors have pushed mightily for Car 40 to be expanded to 24-7, saying the city and Kamloops RCMP are in favour of doing so. It’s believed it could be expanded to 24-7 with just a few-hundred-thousand dollars more in annual funding per year.

When asked by media in recent months, Interior Health staff have been opposed to the idea of increasing funding for the service.