Holes in mental health, addictions care ‘catastrophic’

By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life Staff

 

As a former health care administrator, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas said she thought she knew “how bad” things were for those with mental health and addictions issues.

 

She said her eyes were opened even further through her experiences on the provincial legislature’s Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions.

 

The nine-member committee, made up of representatives of all three parties in the legislature, released a report Aug. 26 based on 230 presentations and 300 written submissions.

 

“The people who came to us had tried to access services,” Gélinas said.

 

“Because they didn’t get help, they showed how the results of this were catastrophic for themselves, their family and community. Listening to (these stories) was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

 

One man who made a presentation to the committee explained what happened after his mentally ill wife was denied medical treatment.

 

“They sent her back home, and said, ‘tough it out, princess,’” Gélinas said.

 

“He came home and is sitting on the couch, kind of pulling his hair out, thinking ‘what am I going to do?’ His wife opens up the patio door, goes out onto the balcony, jumps off the balcony, and dies right there in front of him.”

 

The 64-page report, titled Navigating the Journey to Wellness: The Comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan for Ontarians, will be presented in the legislature when it resumes Sept. 13.

 

Gélinas said she hopes some of the 23 recommendations made by the select committee will be implemented within a few months.

 

The main recommendation is the creation of an umbrella agency called Mental Health and Addictions Ontario, to design, manage and co-ordinate the mental health and addictions system.

 

The MPP said there are currently thousands of agencies providing these types of services, run by 12 different provincial ministries. This means there are often holes in the system, and some individuals are denied access to care.

 

“We’re finally giving mental health and addictions a home. Somebody is responsible to make sure that every institution...is available to all.”

 

Gélinas said a similar umbrella agency, Cancer Care Ontario, co-ordinates the province’s cancer care system.

 

In the same vein, the report also recommends mental health and addictions services be provided by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and a “core basket” of services be provided across Ontario.

 

Ensuring equal access to mental health and addictions services is especially important to northerners, who don’t always have access to the same services as those in the south, Gélinas said.

 

Among the report’s other recommendations are:

 

n The need for system “navigators,” to help connect people with treatment and support services.

 

n Affordable and safe housing.

 

n Dealing with the problem of addiction to prescription painkillers. On Aug. 27, after the report was released, the province announced a new tracking system to curb the abuse of painkillers.

 

n More respite care for families.

 

n Helping emergency rooms and family physicians better deal with mental health and addictions patients.

 

Sudbury psychiatrist Dr. Rayudu Koka said he commends the province’s political parties for coming together to produce the report.

 

Putting stricter controls on prescription painkillers is greatly needed, Koka said.

 

“(Prescription painkillers) may get into the wrong hands, and physicians get scared to prescribe them, when they should be prescribing,” he said. “Sometimes they prescribe more (than is needed), and that can cause problems.”

 

Marion Quigley, CEO of the Sudbury-Manitoulin branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, was among those who presented to the select committee.

 

During her presentation, she spoke about the need for those with mental illness and addictions to have proper housing. She said she is happy to see the issue addressed in the report.

 

“It’s really important for people to have a home, a friend and a place to feel like part of society,” Quigley said. “You have to start with a home first.”

 

To view the report, go to www.ontla.on.ca, and click on Committees and then Committee Reports.