Capital District Health - Community Mental Health: First Visit

From the OurHealthyMinds.com website:

Community Mental Health has changed the way individuals access their services.

First Visit

On May 2, 2011, Community Mental Health changed the way individuals access their services. In the past, Individuals have often had to wait weeks or months to be seen. These changes will drastically reduce the time they will have to wait. Each Community Mental Health location will have a designated day or days each week when they will be seeing new clients. This new initiative is called First Visit.

First Visit is a simple, easy way for people with significant mental health problems or mental illness to access help from Community Mental Health. We do not offer emergency services. Call Mental Health Mobile Crisis - 429.8167 or 1(888) 429.8167 – or go to your local emergency department.

During your First Visit, you will see a therapist to talk about the mental health problem that prompted you to seek help; what helps your manage; and ways to build on your strengths and resources. If you need further assessment or treatment, this will be offered.

How do you book a First Visit?

We encourage you to contact your family doctor for a referral. They will receive information about your visit in a timely manner.

You can [also] book a First Visit [on your own] with one of our Community Mental Teams by calling on Monday (Friday if Monday is a holiday). Each of our locations has a specific day, or days, each week when new clients are seen.

Here are our locations and telephone numbers:

Dartmouth Community Mental Health
Belmont House, 33 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth
Tel: 466-1830
First Visit is offered on Thursdays.

Bayers Road Community Mental Health
Suite 109, Bayers Road Centre
7071 Bayers Road, Halifax
Tel: 454-1400
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Bedford/Sackville Community Mental Health
Cobequid Community Health Centre
40 Freer Lane, Lower Sackville
Tel: 865-3663
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Cole Harbour Community Mental Health
Cole Harbour Place
51 Forest Hills Parkway, Dartmouth
Tel: 434-3263
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays.

West Hants Community Mental Health*
89 Payzant Drive, Windsor
Tel: (902)792-2042
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays.

This service is offered through Capital Health and there is no direct cost to the patient. We provide consultation and individual and/or group therapy to people living with a mental illness or struggling with a mental health problem. We work closely with family doctors and community agencies.

First Visit is for individuals 19 years of age and older.

*West Hants supports adults, youth and children.

Also see:

Stats, research lead to sooner First Visit

Which Doors Lead to Where: How to Enhance Access to Mental Health Service: Barriers, Facilitators and Opportunities for Canadians’ Mental Health

Please click on the image to magnify it.

To download the entire document (PDF), please click here.

Also see:

Mental Health Table

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

A four-part series on young people with mental illness ...

... written by John Gillis and published in the Chronicle Herald.




Part One
‘It’s not him, it’s the illness’
Mom stands by son who choked her; she hopes his court-ordered stay at forensic hospital will finally help him

Part Two
Mom pleads for timely help

Part Three
‘It seemed so real’
Imaginery noises led to bipolar disorder diagnosis for bright young teenage girl

Part Four
Treat mental health problems early, avoid trouble later
The last in a four-part series on young people and mental illness

Psychiatrists Join Wait Time Alliance to Advocate for Benchmarks for Psychiatric Care

Ottawa, Ontario (April 19, 2007)

For immediate release – Today the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) joined the expanded Wait Time Alliance to step up its advocacy for wait time benchmarks in psychiatry.

“Benchmarks establish what is adequate care and this makes it easier to hold the system accountable to patients and their families,” says Dr. Manon Charbonneau, President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. “We want the federal government and health ministers to include serious psychiatric illnesses on their priority lists.”

More people die by suicide than from motor vehicle accidents. Most people who die by suicide have some history of psychiatric illness—and those who die by suicide are disproportionately young. We also know untreated depression is the greatest cause of disability in women of working age. “The tragedy is that too often such illnesses do not get treatment in time to prevent these horrible consequences,” says Dr. Charbonneau.

CPA published wait time benchmarks for patients with serious psychiatric illnesses last March. Timely access to psychiatric health services is critical for the 20 per cent of Canadians who will need mental health services in their lifetime.

The Wait Time Alliance of Canada (WTA) is a partnership of specialty associations and the Canadian Medical Association.

The Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) is the national voice for Canada’s 4,100 psychiatrists and more than 600 psychiatric residents. Founded in 1951, the CPA is dedicated to promoting an environment that fosters excellence in the provision of clinical care, education and research.

View the CPA policy paper on wait time benchmarks by clicking here.

Information: Hélène Côté, Canadian Psychiatric Association
Cell: (613) 797-5488