Toronto – With the provincial election two days away, Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario is encouraging voters to cast their ballot for the party that will most support the mental health and addiction care needs of all Ontarians.
CMHA Ontario believes one of the best strategies to achieve enhanced care is to develop and implement a provincewide plan to attract and retain mental health and addictions workers.
Without such a plan, promises made by all parties to provide Ontarians greater access to mental health and addiction services will be hollow.
Like other health sectors hit hard by the pandemic, community mental health and addictions providers are losing talented and dedicated people to emotional exhaustion, burnout and stress.
The impact on Ontarians will be severe: without enough staff, wait times will only grow longer and services will be less available.
“Aside from providing quality care, staff recruitment and retention is currently the significant issue for us,” said Camille Quenneville, CEO, CMHA Ontario. “We need a dedicated workforce to ensure that all Ontarians who need mental health and addiction support will receive it.”
CMHA Ontario and its local branches point to years of chronic underfunding for the community mental health and addictions sector as a primary reason for staff recruitment and retention challenges.
The pandemic has also led to greater demand for service, which places additional strain on a workforce already stretched thin. Consider that:
- One CMHA branch has experienced an 86 per cent turnover in nursing positions, with many leaving after less than a year
- CMHAs are forced to move away from hiring provincially regulated professions like social workers, nurses and occupational therapists to unregulated roles which come at a lower salary
- CMHA registered nurses make 33 per cent less than registered nurses at other health care providers
- Positions are going unfilled because there’s not enough funding
- Candidates are offered jobs but refuse due to low salary
CMHA Ontario urges the public to vote for the party that will implement a plan to attract and retain mental health and addictions workers so that everyone in the province can get the best care when and where they need it.
Over the last six weeks, CMHA Ontario’s “I Choose” election campaign has put the spotlight on different challenges that are having an impact on how people access care in this province.
For more information about the “I Choose” campaign, visit www.ichoosemha.ca or follow #ichoosemha on social media.
Fast Facts:
- Since 2016 the government has provided $132 billion for the acute care sector versus $7 billion for community mental health and addictions
- A survey last December conducted by Mental Health Research Canada found that 66 per cent of nurses reported burnout; mental health professionals followed closely at 61 per cent
- CMHA Ontario polling has found that nearly 80 per cent of Ontarians expect the province to be in a mental health crisis once the pandemic is over
About Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario is a not-for-profit, charitable organization funded by the provincial government. We work to improve the lives of all Ontarians through leadership, collaboration and continual pursuit of excellence in community-based mental health and addictions services. Our vision is a society that embraces and invests in the mental health of all people. We are a trusted advisor to government, contributing to health systems development through policy formulation and recommendations that promote positive mental health.
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For more information, contact:
Mike Feenstra
Communications, Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario
T: 416-203-0427
E: mfeenstra@ontario.cmha.ca