As a followup to what you have just read, I give
you the following background information about what is
happening with regard Ontario's Psychiatric Hospitals.
The provincial government has developed a mental health
reform plan that better co-ordinates services and offers
more community supports to ensure people like Edmond Yu
don't fall through the cracks, an inquest into his death
has been told.
``Consumers and families tell us how difficult it is to
access service. There is no map to the system,'' Catherine
Brown, a policy co-ordinator with the health ministry,
testified yesterday.
``One of the biggest problems . . . is that the
linkages aren't there. That's what allows people to
fall through the gap. We are asking (for services) to
be linked as closely as possible, so the system is
seamless and consumers can move through the different
levels as easily as possible.''
The coroner's inquest is examining Ontario's mental
ealth system and police alternatives to the use of lethal
force. Yu, 35, was shot on a TTC bus Feb. 20, 1997,
by Toronto Constable Lou Pasquino after he threatened
officers with a hammer. Police were cleared of wrongdoing
by the province's special investigations unit.
Yesterday, the jury was shown a draft copy of the
``Making It Happen'' report, which the province has
yet to formally release.
It is different from other reform strategies attempted
since de-institutionalization of the mental health system
began in the 1960s, because it sets out concrete steps
to get long-held but stalled initiatives off the ground,
Brown said.
Health Minister Elizabeth Witmer last year directed the
creation of a new strategy, recognizing ``there wasn't
enough action taking place'' on recommendations in
previous reports, she said.
For example, a strategy released by the then-NDP
government in 1993 called for a significant shift
from institutional to community care over 10 years.
But the province was behind on targets set in that report.
One reason was that mental health planning was
losing out in the competition with other health
initiatives, Brown said. The mentally ill were often unable to fight for their needs, she said.
The new strategy addresses that problem by creating
about seven mental health task forces throughout the
province that would be responsible for assessing the
needs of the mentally ill in various communities,
devising service-delivery plans and ensuring those
plans are implemented.
For example, they would make sure discharge plans
are in place for those leaving hospital and that
individuals with serious mental illnesses have case
managers or a team of workers to help them with
everything from housing to medical treatment.
The inquest has heard there were numerous gaps in
the system that contributed to Yu's downfall.
The new strategy would ``ensure people don't get
lost,'' Brown said.
The mental health system is made up of more than
300 community mental health programs, 59 general
hospital psychiatric units and 10 psychiatric
hospitals, six of which are earmarked for closing.
PEOPLE FALLING THRU THE GAPS ?
NO
The Governments (past and present) are making the Gaps
bigger !
Hamilton– OPSEU President Leah Casselman today
called for a moratorium on the closing of all
psychiatric facilities in the province of Ontario.
Casselman was responding to Health Minister Witmer’s
announcement of the closure of Hamilton Psychiatric
Hospital and transfer of psychiatric services to St.
Joseph’s Hospital.
"Ontario’s psychiatric hospitals are recognized
worldwide for their professional staff and for
their delivery of specialized care," said Casselman.
"Hamilton Psych in particular, recently won the
American Psychiatric Association’s Gold Award of
Excellence. We cannot afford to lose a facility of
this calibre."
The move into an acute care hospital like St. Joseph’s,
workers and patient advocates say, could be devastating
for patients who are seriously mentally ill. "This
government has absolutely no sense of the needs of
this patient population," says Marjorie Martin,
President of OPSEU Local 203, which represents more
than 600 HPH staff. "They need space, they need an
environment that has the comforts of home. Dumping
them into a busy, downtown acute care hospital poses
grave risks for these patients."
Hamilton Psychiatric was one of six hospitals cited
for closure by the Health Services Restructuring
Commission. Last week the minister announced a five-year
reprieve for Psych hospitals in London and St. Thomas.
"They realized that the community supports were just
not there," says Marjorie, "and we know they’re not
there in Hamilton either."
"To move psych patients downtown is to bring them one
step closer to the streets and the jails," says
Casselman. "They deserve facilities they can call
their own, and the government has an obligation to
provide them. The possibility of even one Psych
Hospital being closed is one too many."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 25, 1999.
Privatization one step closer with layoffs
Toronto – The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
last week took what workers warn is a dangerous step
towards the privatization of mental health services.
Following the recommendations of outside consultants,
the board of trustees announced the ‘downsizing’ of
65 support services staff and contracting out of
several management positions. "They say this is a
‘compromise,’" says Nancy Pridham, a nurse and OPSEU
member. "How can removing people with direct
experience with the mentally ill be anything but
a compromise to patient care?"
"The board has made a Pontius Pilate decision,"
says Richard Coburn, a housekeeping worker at the
Queen Street facility. "They’ve basically washed
their hands and left the decision-making to the
consultants."
Workers are concerned that the outsourcing of food
will have a negative impact on the nutritional needs
of patients. "This is unacceptable in a facility
where food is an integral part of treatment," says
Pridham.
In two reports submitted to the board of the Centre
for Addictions and Mental Health, the union concluded
that contracting-out costs more than it saves. Snow
removal brought the issue of contracted-out work home
more recently: "It took days," says Coburn, "and even
then they managed to bury the fire hydrants and cover
the fire doors. It was a health and safety disaster."
In an open letter to the board, the union concludes
that the only way to provide safe, efficient, and
cost-effective services, is to do it yourself.
"Keeping services in-house gives you flexibility
and accountability. Once you contract out, you have
no control over the quality of services provided,
and they go straight downhill."
"From the beginning of our discussions about
contracting out, management kept referring to
support services as ‘non-core activities’ or
the ‘hotel-side’ of the operation," says
Addiction Research Foundation editorial
coordinator Myles Magner. "They have no concern
for maintaining the quality of services, whether
it’s food preparation, cleaning, or keeping the
buildings in good working order."
