New partnership could cut waitlist by half a year

Thousands of northerners will receive better access to mental health care thanks to a new program being offered by the North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

The Northern Telepsychiatry Program links every Family Health Team in the North East LHIN to CAMH psychiatrists.

“The program is helping to build a co-ordinated system of mental care right where most people access it — their doctor's or nurse's office,” said Louise Paquette, CEO of the North East LHIN.

Paquette also recently received the Ontario Telemedicine Network's inaugural Champions of Telemedicine Award.

“This unique use of technology is not only about increasing access to psychiatric care but also developing mental health capacity in our primary care providers,” Paquette said. “(It's) a win-win for patients.”

The LHIN and the CAMH spent the past two years building the program. A clinical co-ordinator will soon be hired to schedule video conference consults for the Family Health Teams with Toronto-based psychiatrists.

“This is an exceptional example of collaboration to develop mental health care services availability in a region that has a great need of it,” said Dr. Alison Crawford, clinical head of telepsychiatry at CAMH.

There are 27 Family Health Teams in the North East LHIN serving about 156,300 patients. The program will be rolled out in five of them.

“This program is a huge step forward,” said Dr. Al McLean from the Superior Family Health Team. “It cut down the wait list for seriously-ill patients by more then six months.”

CAMH is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and a world leader in its field.