Emergency room visits, hospitalizations and treatment wait lists are on the rise for children and youth with potentially life-threatening mental illness, according to a new report from Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO). CMHO’S Report Card on Child and Youth Mental Health states that since 2006-07, there has been a 54 percent increase in emergency department visits and a 60 percent increase in hospitalizations for children and youth seeking treatment for mental health issues in Ontario.
CMHO’s Report Card provides a system evaluation based on information provided by Canadian Institute for Health Information as well as CMHO’s more than 90 Children’s Mental Health Centres.
The report measures achievements and improvements needed in four areas; access, accountability, system coordination and quality. It also makes recommendations on how to improve the community-based children’s mental health system.
This year’s report flags access to community-based treatment available for children and youth with mental health disorders as a serious concern. According to CMHO, children and youth are not able to access care when they need it due to a shortfall in funding for Children’s Mental Health Centres.
“We are calling on the Ontario Government to support community-based mental health centres, which, if properly funded this year with a $65 million investment, could save the province up to $145 million in hospital costs. And, more importantly may also save the lives of children and youth battling mental illness,” said CMHO CEO Kim Moran.
The report card also flags the need for a comprehensive provincial plan for quality improvement, as currently quality improvement efforts happen only in individual agencies.
CMHA Ontario supports the call for a comprehensive quality improvement plan for the province. CMHA Ontario is currently working to build a foundation for integrating quality into the system through our partnership with Addictions and Mental Health Ontario and Health Quality Ontario on the Excellence through Quality Improvement Project (E-QIP).
For more information on the CMHO 2016 report card, visit their website.