Sask. people unable to access timely mental health treatment due to lack of psychiatric staff

Saskatchewan people grappling with serious mental illness can't access timely help. 

Dozens of beds at the province's main inpatient mental health facility in North Battleford, Sask., aren't open.

The facility is supposed to have 188 psychiatric rehabilitation beds open, and 96 beds available in a separate, secure wing for people accused of crime living with mental health issues. Government data from April 1 shows 48 of the 96 corrections beds and 166 of the 188 non-corrections rehabilitation beds were operational.

One Saskatchewan couple said their son who burned down their house and was charged with arson requires an assessment in the secure facility, but were told he cannot get in for one because of the shortages. They say their son who needs immediate mental care is stuck in a jail waiting.

The Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of Saskatchewan said beds are closed at the psychiatric hospital because the province can't staff them. A spokesperson for the Saskatchewan Health Authority said it is "working with many partners to recruit staff to help open additional beds" and that the numbers fluctuate day-to-day. 

Adult and youth patients are also waiting months or years in Saskatchewan for outpatient psychiatric help. These wait times can create bigger problems down the line.  

"Delayed care means progression of illness to a more severe level that may have been preventable," said Dr. Doug Urness, president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. 

They also have a wider impact on the patients' support networks and the health system, he said.

There were 120 licensed psychiatrists in Saskatchewan as of March 2021. The government funds 64.7 full time equivalent contract positions, and the rest are "fee for service physicians."

Urness said there's not a clear answer on the optimal psychiatrist-to-population ratio, but some estimates pinned it as one psychiatrist for every 6,500 to 10,000 people. 

He said that even if an area achieves that ratio, it still won't be enough to meet demand, because many psychiatrists spend their time occupied with administration, education or research on top of seeing patients. 

The long wait list for adults referred to psychiatrists is also creating backlogs in the child psychiatric realm. 

"I will continue to treat patients who are 18, sometimes 19 or 20," Dr. Tamara Hinz, a child and youth psychiatrist, said. "Given the crisis in adult psychiatry, sometimes there just isn't an accepting adult psychiatrist to transition some of these patients out of my practice, which then of course affects our capacity to bring in new children." 

Hinz said this further complicates the child psychiatric system, which has long faced its own lengthy wait-lists and inability to meet demand.