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The CCMHI onside with Senate Committee mental health report
MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 9, 2006 – The final report released today by the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, has the enthusiastic support of the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative (CCMHI). The CCMHI is a national initiative that is funded by Health Canada’s Primary Health Care Transition Fund until the end of May 2006. The goal has been to improve the mental health and well-being of Canadians by enhancing collaboration among health care providers, consumers, families and caregivers, and improving consumer access to prevention, health promotion, treatment/intervention and rehabilitation services in primary health care settings. This initiative has been led by a consortium of 12 national organizations representing: consumers, families and caregivers, community providers, dietitians, family physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. The Senate Committee’s mental health report, Out of the Shadows At Last, and more importantly the principles and actions contained therein, provide a strong start for improving a system characterized by fragmented policies and programs. Canada remains one of the few major countries that does not have a comprehensive plan for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of mental illnesses. The CCMHI applauds the Senate Committee’s call for a health care system that will better serve consumers, families and caregivers who are in need of mental health services. “We are pleased with the insight and clarity that the Senate Committee brings to the issue of mental health in Canada”, said CCMHI Chair Dr. Nick Kates. “We are encouraged by the Senate Committee’s vision for a system that includes distinct approaches to meet the unique needs of specific populations; patient/client-centred care models that are culturally appropriate; and front-line providers who are part of a collaborative interdisciplinary team.” The Senate Committee declares collaborative care to be “the most promising strategy to improve both access to, and the quality of, treatment and services at the first-line level”, and is recommending that collaborative care initiatives be eligible for funding through the proposed Mental Health Transition Fund to be administered by the Canadian Mental Health Commission. Not only will this fund help people with mental illness and providers of both primary health care and mental health care build new collaborative initiatives, this fund will also support a wide range of initiatives with a view to accelerating the transformation of delivery systems. The CCMHI supports the notion of collaborative mental health care and has based its work on the belief that, of the options available to people with mental illness, they must include services developed through the integration of mental health and primary health care. The CCMHI has worked with experts across the country to develop the case for collaborative care, and to help mental health consumers, their caregivers, primary health care providers and mental health specialists work together to provide care that is patient-centred and integrative. The CCMHI is pleased to note that the Canadian Mental Health Commission will also be pursuing the promotion of best practices in the development and implementation of collaborative care initiatives. The CCMHI advised the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addictions (INMHA) that it believed the most important mental health research issue in Canada to be developing an understanding of the structures, processes and practices of collaborative mental health care in primary health care that will ensure Canadians receive effective patient-centred care to meet their needs. The INMHA has determined that this will be an important feature of their research strategy and we are pleased to note that the recommendations in the final report of the Senate Committee calls for substantial increases in funding to permit the INMHA to pursue this and other research priorities. The CCMHI has paid close attention to the work of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology over the last two years and has shared its information and observations from time to time. “Throughout the last two years, both the CCMHI and the Senate Committee undertook projects which focused on mental health reforms to improve the promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental illness. Although we started from different vantage points – from a grassroots consumer-provider level, and a federal policy-oriented perspective – we arrived at similar conclusions”, said Dr. Kates. “We have been thoroughly impressed by the dedication and wisdom of Senator Kirby, Senator Keon and the rest of the committee, along with their very skillful staff. They have listened respectfully, considered thoughtfully, and acted wisely in recommending a set of actions which, taken together, will put Canada on the path to a sensible strategy for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of mental illnesses.” The members of the CCMHI look forward to the establishment of the new Canadian Mental Health Commission later this year, and will support its startup by sharing the CCMHI research series, toolkits and Charter, which were developed throughout the two-year project. These materials are available from the CCMHI Web site at: www.ccmhi.ca (ou visitez www.iccsm.ca) -30- For more information: Scott Dudgeon, Executive Director Valerie Gust, Communications Manager Link to full report on Senate of Canada Web site |
