The latest Health Quality Ontario (HQO) report indicates that providing comprehensive care for people with mental health and addictions remains a work in progress. HQO mentioned this as a key area to address in its 10th annual report, Measuring Up 2016, released on Oct. 13.
The report stated that within the mental health and addictions sector, the number of individuals who were hospitalized for a mental illness or addiction and saw a doctor within seven days of discharge remained stable at around 30 percent.
Readmission for a mental illness or addiction within 30 days of discharge also remained stable at around 13 percent. The rates of individuals with mental health issues that were restrained decreased steadily between 2007/2008 and 2012/2013 and has remained stable over the past two years.
Improving palliative care services to support patients at home and access to care – specifically with family doctors and quality home care to meet the needs of Ontarians – was also on the list. It marked the first time palliative care appeared in the report, an important focus as the population of Ontario ages and requires more home care.
Reducing inequalities, with patients in rural areas, northern Ontario, in poorer neighbourhoods and those with lower education was also an identified area for improvement.
However, over the last 10 years, the report states that there has been significant progress in many areas including: shorter wait times for surgery, overall reduction in smoking rate, reduction in hospital-acquired infection rates, and better quality of care for long-term care home residents despite having more complex needs.
Other highlights of the report include:
- People in Ontario are living longer. Overall life expectancy for people living in Ontario increased to 82.1 years between 2009 and 2011 from 80.5 between 2003 and 2005.
- About 94 percent of people aged 16 and older in Ontario reported that they had a primary care provider, however, less than half of this population were able to get same day appointments when they were sick or had a health concern.
- The report provided a focus on equity and the gaps in care and noted a variation in geography and population groups. For example, suicide rates among men who lived in poorer neighbourhoods were significantly higher than men who lived in wealthier neighbourhoods, at 18.4 per 100,000 people compared to 11.0 per 100,000.
- Depression among individuals living in long-term care homes remained stable.
Health Quality Ontario is increasing the understanding of quality improvement by monitoring and tracking the strengths, as well as the gaps, in order to better serve the needs of Ontarians.
This is also something that CMHA Ontario is committed to through partnership projects such as Excellence through Quality Improvement (E-QIP). This project aims to support organizations by increasing the understanding of quality in mental health and addictions care and working towards improvements of key domains of quality within the sector.
For more information on E-QIP, visit the program webpage.
For more information, visit Health Quality Ontario’s website.