Lack of urgency on mental health transfer contributing to ER crisis, advocates say

A lack of urgency to improve and expand access to mental health and addictions care across the country is contributing to the 'crisis' in Canada’s emergency rooms, advocates say.

A lack of urgency to improve and expand access to mental health and addictions care across the country is contributing to the “crisis” in Canada’s emergency rooms, as mental health patients who need help often have nowhere to go but an ER, advocates say.

That’s why a group of more than 35 organizations that represent physicians, mental health professionals and groups that advocate for Canadians suffering from mental health, addictions and poverty-related issues say Ottawa needs to act now to implement a new $4.5-billion mental health transfer – a measure promised by the Liberals in last year’s federal election that has since stalled.

Patients in crisis are increasingly ending up in emergency departments due to gaps in publicly-funded services, as it is the only option for those who don’t have private insurance, says Margaret Eaton, national CEO for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

But with hospitals across the country experiencing significant challenges due to staffing shortages, health worker burnout and a surge of patients with viral illnesses, mental health patients are yet another contributing stressor to overcrowded ERs, she said.

“If the emergency room is the only place for someone to go to get help, then it means that people that could be better served elsewhere are also going to be in line at emergency,” Eaton said.

There is also concern about the kind of care mental health and addictions patients get when the ER is their only option, Eaton added, because it does not provide the opportunity for follow-up or consistent aftercare.

Data compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in 2017 shows nearly one in 10 Canadians who visit the emergency room for help with mental health or addictions will do so four or more times a year.

This demonstrates not only that these patients need more care than can be accessed in one ER visit, but also that the lack of community-based care is adding to the demands on already swamped emergency departments, Eaton said.