Nova Scotia candidates questioned

A letter to the editor published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

The Mental Health Coalition of Nova Scotia emailed all federal election candidates in the province the following questions:

1. Can you please tell us your party’s platform as it pertains to mental health and addictions?


2. Less than five per cent of total health care spending in Canada goes to mental health and in Nova Scotia, less than four per cent. The World Health Organization estimates the disease burden at 15 per cent. How will you and your party address this inequity?


3. In 2014, the Health Accord is up for renewal. What strategy will you and your party adopt to ensure that mental health and addiction issues are addressed in the Health Accord negotiations?


4. The Canadian Psychiatric Association states: "One in three inmates suffer with a mental disorder." What plans do you and your party have to address: a) prevention programs in the community and b) community-based treatment options for individuals currently involved in the criminal justice system?


5. What will you and your party do to address the current states of poverty and homelessness in Canada?
   

Responses from the candidates can be viewed at www.mentalhealthcoalitionns.info.

Gail Gardiner, Co-Chair,

Mental Health Coalition of N.S.

Mental health system 'fragmented'

An article published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

Canada lacks strategy, public forum told

By John McPhee, Health Reporter

Canada is the only G8 country that doesn’t have a national mental health strategy, a public forum was told Monday.

In fact, it would be a stretch to say we have a mental health system at all, said Louise Bradley (pictured), president and chief executive officer of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

"It’s too fragmented to be called a system," Bradley told more than 250 people who packed two large rooms in the Halifax Forum complex for the forum.

The commission, made up of 50 staff members and 120 volunteers, was created three years ago as a result of the Kirby report on mental health and addiction in 2006. It was given a 10-year mandate to address such issues as homelessness, stigma and mental health "first aid," which seeks to identify and address problems as early as possible.

But it is up to grassroots organizations and the provinces to make the commission’s plan a reality, said Bradley, the former head of mental health services at the Capital district health authority.

"If we have no ability to implement anything, it’s going to be a waste of time and a waste of money."

The forum was jointly sponsored by Dalhousie University’s psychiatry department and the Mental Health Coalition of Nova Scotia, made up of individuals and organizations focused on addressing mental health issues.

The province puts about 3.8 per cent of roughly $3.5 billion in health spending into mental health services.

"The system has to work, the capacity has to be built up," Nick Delva, the head of the Dalhousie psychiatry department and co-leader of Capital Health mental health services, said in an interview.

"I don’t think that’s occurring right now. Many people aren’t getting care."

Delva spoke at the forum along with other care providers and advocates from the province and Capital Health.

He singled out the need for housing and treatment in the community for people dealing with complex problems.

"Any particular day here (in Capital Health), we have 50 to 70 people in our in-patient beds who could be placed in the community if there were adequate support."

During question-and-answer sessions, Delva and other speakers heard criticism about access to mental health services, particularly in rural areas.

"There’s plenty of mental health services, but there’s no way people can access them," said Randy Carter of East Jeddore, Halifax County, who noted the lack of public transportation outside of urban centres.

"Something has seriously got to be done because I’ve been involved in this for 40 years and it’s still the same as it was back then."

Collaboration among all government levels are crucial to addressing these kinds of problems, said Susan Kilbride Roper, the co-chairwoman of the mental health coalition.

She particularly welcomed the national commission’s work and that of the Nova Scotia mental health strategy advisory committee.

"We’ve got a bunch of advocates, federal advocates, we’ve never had that before," Kilbride Roper said in an interview. "This is the good news. Getting back to the bad news, the issues are still there and they’re becoming increasingly (serious). Hospital wait times, services in the community, there’s not enough funding. Provincially, we have a lot more work to do."

(jmcphee@herald.ca)

Image credit

Responses from all four parties on Mental Health / Mental Illness in Nova Scotia

From the Mental Health Coalition of Nova Scotia website:

The Mental Health Coalition of Nova Scotia is committed to ensuring all candidates in this election have an understanding of the issues as they relate to mental health services in Nova Scotia. To see the letter that was sent to the parties and to read their responses, please visit this link. For more things to consider before placing a vote for a party or candidate, take a look at these important facts.

Mental health issues deserve an election voice: Coalition

An article published in yesterday's edition of Metro Halifax:

By Devin Stevens

The Mental Health Coalition of Nova Scotia held its third public forum yesterday, and is preparing to make noise during the federal election.

“Our voice isn’t enough,” said Carol Tooton, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Nova Scotia branch.

“We need to bring others from the community in who are working on similar issues, people with the lived experience, who have been through the system. Family members, friends, businesses.”

About 50 people met at the Halifax Forum, breaking into discussion groups and brainstorming how to best represent the mentally ill.

By mid-afternoon, large sheets of paper were taped to the walls, outlining the Coalition’s ideas. Over the next few weeks they plan to pressure federal election candidates to do more.

Tooton said that even though they don’t provide services, the coalition will be after municipal candidates to address those issues as well.

“Guess what? If you have a mental issue and you’re homeless, and you’re panhandling on Spring Garden Road, then it’s an issue for the municipality,” Tooton said.

Tooton said that mental health funding accounts for just four per cent of Nova Scotia’s health care budget, and that number is slipping.

Keith Brumwell runs the Caring and Sharing Social Club, where adults with severe mental health problems can get together, play games, and relax.

Brumwell said he was worried by the lack of funding.

He recently contacted the authorities about a person he thought was suicidal. The doctors agreed, but told the patient to go home for three or four days until a bed became available.

“Home was part of the problem with her,” Brumwell said.