The IWK Health Centre is reporting improvements in a number of the measurable aspects of their mental health services for children, youth and families.
According to the results released this week, clients are receiving better care in a quicker time frame which officials say began with a system shift nearly a decade ago.
“In 2012 we made a change in our model of care,” explained psychologist Dr. Sharon Clark. “We embraced a model from the UK called The Choice in Partnership Approach and that took us to a place of greater transparency, thinking differently about how we engage with families and really being curious about what families need when they come to our care.”
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“What happened in 2012 was the start of really thinking differently,” Clark said.
Four areas make up the main priorities for mental health services: access, quality of care, productivity and staff satisfaction.
In each area positive results have been seen, including:
- 75 per cent improvement in wait times
- 98 per cent patient and family satisfaction in quality of care
- 82 per cent of staff report high levels of satisfaction
- 90 per cent of appointments attended
The IWK credits the high level of appointments made to a change in the referral and intake system which ensures cancelled appointments are filled quickly.
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“They’re constantly watching these cancellations, constantly on the phone with families trying to pull them into these spots,” explained Karen Carey, who works as an access navigator. “So that we’re not having gaps in the calendars and we are getting people in.”
While much of the success can be attributed to the shift in model of care, constantly looking at what is and isn’t working and making appropriate changes is another element they indicate has pushed their capabilities further than before.
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“It’s a really big team effort from our admin team, our booking and registration team, all members of our outpatient team have ideas about how to provide best care and now we have ideas and processes that help those ideas come to life,” said Dr. Clark.
“We are constantly having these conversations,” explained Carey.
“We’re bringing them to different teammates, we’re bringing them to higher levels, we’re being heard and we’re being given the time to help make those changes and bring our concerns to the table that ultimately help families in the long run with getting services met faster.”
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