Delayed access to care compromising the mental health of children and teens
An emerging crisis in the fight for mental health has advocates in Ontario voicing their concern for the thousands of youth struggling with mental illness.
According to a recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), nearly half of hospital beds reserved for youths between the ages of five and 24 are filled for the treatment of mental illnesses. This shift in care accompanies a dramatic rise in the number of youth visiting emergency rooms with severe mental distress—increasing 45 per cent from 2007 to 2014.
Though certainly cause for concern, the rising number of hospitalized youth is not unanticipated by the patients and professionals who are familiar with the daunting wait times for access to care.
In 2015, an estimated 6,000 children in Ontario waited one year for access to treatment, with an anticipated 12,000 children joining the queue by 2016.
In a recent discussion on CBC radio program The Current, Vice-President of Research and Analysis at CIHI, Kathleen Morris, cites a breakdown in community care as a driving factor in the long wait times and accumulation of youth in hospital care.
“Ideally, you would hope most kids would be cared for in the community by family doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, and social workers. What we worry about is that if community care isn’t there or easy to access, the kids may be waiting until they are in crisis before getting care.”
In an effort to streamline the system and provide youth with easier access to care, the Ministry of Child and Youth Services increased funding of Children’s Mental Health programs by $6 million in January 2016.
Yet advocates are quick to emphasize that innovation, in addition to financial investment, is necessary to create a functional system.
In urban areas, the emergence of walk-in counseling centres has lessened the burden of wait times for traditional assessments. Not unlike a walk-in clinic for physical health care, youth can drop into counseling sessions without an appointment and talk through the emotional and mental stresses bothering them. Those requiring or requesting more involved care are forwarded to longer-term counseling options, yet many low- or moderate-intensity issues are handled through the walk-in sessions. Of the youth that participated in walk-in visits last year, 95 per cent of visitors had their concerns addressed through the centre, with only five percent moving on to long-term initiatives.
Despite encouraging changes in urban areas, the struggle to remain engaged with youth in rural communities remains a particular challenge for promoters of mental health. In an effort to open dialogue with these children and adolescents, tele-psychiatry is an area of growing focus for Children’s Mental Health Ontario.
Notably, 70 per cent of adults living with mental illness first experienced symptoms during adolescence, emphasizing the focus on youth mental health as a key proponent of prevention and early management in the movement for mental health.