New group tackles mental health, addictions

The newly formed regional mental health and addiction consultation group already has some tough questions to answer following its inaugural meeting on May 7.

Spearheaded by the North East Local Heath Integration Network, there was plenty of interest in the group during the nomination process, according to NE LHIN CEO Louise Paquette. The LHIN is "pleased with the expertise of the group members," who come from across northeastern Ontario, she added.

“Each member brings a very rich perspective to the advisory table – including that of consumer, educator, and health-service provider,” Paquette said. “Most importantly, each member is committed to working to improve the quality of services delivered to people with mental health and addiction on both the clinical and personal supports.”

The group will advise the NE LHIN on the implementation of the province's 10-year strategy - Open Minds, Healthy Minds - and on important regional mental health and addiction issues.

The advisory group’s tasks are aligned with a very significant part of the NE LHIN portfolio - an investment in 49 addiction and mental health service providers of more than $72 million, Paquette said.

In line with NE LHIN priorities generally, some questions for this group as it considers mental health and addiction services across the region are:

- Where in the system can we integrate services to provide more efficient and equitable access for people?
- How might we bolster community capacity moving forward?
- What opportunities might be embraced to advance care through eHealth technologies like telemedicine and the Integrated Assessment Record?

Less fragmented access to care was a comment frequently heard during recent NE LHIN community engagements across northeastern Ontario, according to Paquette. As a result, the NE LHIN’s theme for Mental Health Week 2012 is Putting the Pieces Together for Mental Health.

As part of its Mental Health Week events, the LHIN held its first-ever Virtual Coffee Break panel discussion, where panellists from across the NE LHIN region provided insight on mental health improvements aimed at reducing fragmentation of services for northerners.

For example, in Sudbury, NE LHIN efforts are succeeding in decreasing the number of repeat visits by mental health and addiction consumers to emergency departments. At the same time, the health-care needs of these individuals are being met more quickly and appropriately right in hospital emergency departments, according to a news release.

The NE LHIN has funded Iris Addiction Recovery of Sudbury to provide an emergency room addiction worker to work collaboratively with Sudbury hospital staff six nights weekly.

“Only good can come out of it,” Kathryn Irwin-Seguin, Iris executive director, said. “I’m hoping it benefits everyone involved, especially the patient.”

Diverting patients from emergency departments to appropriate providers for support offers patients ongoing support, and frees up the hospital’s acute-care resources for those who are suffering from a life-threatening illness and are relying on their ED for urgent care, according to the NE LHIN.

“The staff are impressed with how early workers are able to intervene and provide counselling and referral to community services which, in one case, led to what staff definitely feel was a reduced length of stay in the ED,” Crystal Pitfield, clinical manager of the Emergency Department at Health Sciences North, said.

Patients are now receiving targeted, expert counselling services for their addictions along with potential follow up in the community.

“Staff members are thrilled to have the workers here with us and the workers are looking for opportunities to both intervene with patients and provide education to staff. A definite win-win for the community and us,” Pitfield said.

The Coffee Break panel included Dr. Tim Zmijowskyj, the NE LHIN’s primary care lead; Linda Brown, caregiver support counsellor and executive director of the Alzheimer Society of North Bay and District; Vincent Casey, board member for the Algoma Anchor Agency in Sault Ste. Marie; Kathryn Irwin-Seguin, executive director of the Iris Addiction Recovery in Sudbury; and Harry Jones, executive director of the Jubilee Centre in Timmins.

The 30-minute Coffee Break session was taped and will be available as a podcast at www.nelhin.on.ca.

Posted by Arron Pickard