Almost five years after the start of the pandemic, waiting times for mental health are beginning to decline in some regions, partly due to financial resources from an agreement with specialized doctors.
In Laval, the number of adults has melted in recent months. “We were among the worst in Quebec,” says the new director of the Mental Health and Outbuildings program, Martin Camiré.
However, CISSS de Laval now has “one of the best average waiting times in Quebec”, 14 days, specifies. “Now we can say that our service is accessible in the field of mental health.” »»
In the first line, the list of waiting people increased from April from 692 to 206, which is a decrease of 70 %. In patients waiting for more than 30 days, it dropped by 403 to 20 names.
He has long been waiting for mental health in Quebec exploded during the pandemic. In 2022, the Minister responsible for social services, Lionel Carmant, took two years to “significantly” reduce it.
Like all regions in Quebec, Laval received a special means from the Ministry of Health last year to reduce his waiting list.
Money from specialized doctors
These funds of up to $ 450,000 came from the Institute of Relevance of Medical Acts (IPAM), an organization created in 2019 to reduce the excess premiums in the reward of specialized doctors and reinvest them into targeted projects. In total, the Ministry of Mental Health reinvested almost $ 20 million IPAM dollars.
The plan Laval Catch -UP consisted in the waiting list by providing a stroke by offering the beaches of staff for a certain period in the evening and the weekend.
In the second step, CISSS was able to hire a few free posts. And with partially emptied waiting lists, it was easier to hire employees, explains Mr. Camiri. “There is a training effect (…).” When the team is successful, it is easier to get new players. »»
The reduction is also explained by stricter monitoring of the path of patients managers, mentioning. “Every week we look at how many users we have (more than 30 days of waiting) and how we prefer them. »»
TeleconSultation, success in Mauricia and Centrum-Du-Qubec
Also in Mauricia and Center-Du-Qquébec, the wind seems to grow in the right direction. In addition, the new patron of the medical Quebec, Geneviève Biron, recorded the results of the CISSS Teleconsultation Project project.
In the region, the number of people is waiting for mental health more than 30 days from August almost half (from 460 to 235).
CISSS has established a kind of flying mental health team that takes place in places where most people are waiting for “exclusive terms”.
The team called “Target Access” has a social worker, four agents for human resources and a special educational technician. It focuses on the sector for so long and if the average waiting time was not below 30 days.
CISSS received $ 1.4 million from the IPAM envelope to perform this project. The formula is inspired by an impulse initiative developed in the Ciusss of Est-de-l’île-de-Montréal. In addition to being deployed in Mauricia in a virtual regime and evaluating all patients of teleconsultation.
“Teleconsultation is a tool that we need to intervene,” explains the target approach manager, Caroline Creamer. In this area in the enormous territory, this allows the team more “agile”.
In an interview with Obligation In November, Geneviève Biron said it was a “good initiative” that could serve as a “track” to determine the solution on a larger scale.
In the field, the community environment is enthusiastic. “We see a good improvement,” says Chantal Laneuville, director of grouping of basic mental health organizations in Mauricia and Center-Du-Quebec. “Waiting is not a problem at the moment,” he adds, emphasizing that it is a level of emergency people who are “more problematic”.
More waiting in the second line
Certainly everything is not solved. In Laval, waiting for heavier cases remains very long. In order to see a psychiatrist in the second line, it is necessary to wait an average of four months (132 days). The government goal is 30 days, but only one in five patients is observed in less than a month.
Martin Camiré hopes to straighten the situation thanks to the arrival of new psychiatrists. In 2023, CISSS had to roll with half a team (17 psychiatrists out of 34). However, all positions should be occupied this year, said the director.
In addition, in the field of the organization of mental health of the community, it claims that it does not feel the effects of a decline in waiting time. “We always have a job,” remarks Richard Mron, from Laval’s sister -in -law, defense organizations of people living a problem with mental health.
In alphabem, an organization that helps families of people with mental health problems, we also did not feel that the waiting list was shortened. “I am surprised,” says his director Patrice Machabée. “In our organization, more than 200 people are waiting for services. »»
On the Mauricia side, the average waiting in the second line is shorter, but is also far from the target (on average 60 days). One day, CISSS would also like to put the target access team in the second line to offer services to people waiting for a psychiatrist for a long time.
What if there were cuts?
It remains to find out whether future health compression can endanger the achieved progress. Health Quebec has received a mandate to store cuts for less than $ 1.5 billion in the network to limit the deficit.
In some places, this has already been reflected in the abolition of stakeholders in mental health, for example at the Apalaches Ciss de Chaudière.
Asked by Mr. Camiré, it is said to be relatively confident. The money from IPAM, which made it possible to finance the overtime of blitz, was equally accurate, he notes. Now it is a question of maintaining what has been obtained. “Our primary goal is to maintain what we have. »»
In Mauricia, the team says they are not afraid. “We still hope that we will be able to continue this project and really have something more permanent with the model we have set up,” says Mr.me Cream.
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