After six years in the making, the Mental Health Commission of Canada will reveal our country’s first-ever national mental health strategy Tuesday.
The overhaul recommends national priorities for prevention and treatment of the leading cause of disability in Canada: mental illness. The strategy calls for spending on mental health to increase from seven to nine per cent of total health spending over 10 years, an increase of $3-4 billion.
The strategy says the nation must embrace a “whole-of-government,” pan-Canadian approach
The Commission says the current system is so fractured and underfunded that it’s turning prisons and jails into “asylums of the 21st century.”
A local family knows all too well how mental illness can hold a person captive. Brenda Wentzell’s son suffered a psychotic break while still in school.
“He was completely falling apart, disintegrating before our eyes. He lacked the social skills he had learned along the way, he started disengaging from friends, from family.”
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While the Wentzell family waited to be referred for treatment, they did their own research, and turned to the medical community.
“Medications are one of the cornerstones of the treatment program.”
Successful treatment of mental illness usually requires a multi-faceted approach that often includes therapy, social supports, and medication.
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is partnering with Medicine Shoppe Canada to provide patients with better access to care.
“It’s a very personalized kind of service,” explains Tom Shand with CMHA. “When a person breaks a leg, or has the flu, they come in and get some antibiotics, they get a painkiller, and they’re done with their pharmacist in the course of one meeting a few days. This really is a lifetime relationship.”
Incorporating pharmacists into mental health treatment plans gives Canadians another resource to help in their recovery.
“They don’t always have access to a psychiatrist,” says Shand. “Their pharmacist around the corner is a great source for them.”
Wentzell agrees. “During our 15-year journey, one constant in our life has been the pharmacist. And we’ve forged a very strong bond of trust with them.” She adds, “Pharmacists take the time to inquire about our son’s health and how his progress is.”
So, as the country marks the 61st anniversary of mental health week, more and more resources are being channeled into sustaining mental health care in Canada. According to Shand, it couldn’t come soon enough.
“There’s no way that mental health has been enough of a priority until now, no. It’s been the poor sister in terms of getting funding.” However, he agrees, it’s better late than never.
“We’re pleased that mental health more and more is coming out of the shadows,” says Shand. “The fact that people are more prepared to talk about it, means that they’re probably more prepared to discuss their own situations and seek help, and if you seek help, you’re going to have a better chance of getting treated and recover.”
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