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PRESS RELEASEAugust 31, 2004 Madame Carole Beaulieu Dear Editor: In a recent article "Il faut innover, pas privatiser" (L'Actualité, September 1, 2004), Dr. Michael Rachlis, one of this country's most esteemed health commentators, argues that more innovation, not more funding or even privatisation, is what Canada's health care system needs to survive. Many health professionals in the primary health care field agree. And they are already innovating. Dr. Rachlis cites examples from Hamilton, Sault Ste. Marie, Quebec City and Saskatoon where health care providers have pooled their skills and resources and worked as collaborative teams to improve patient outcomes. The results are impressive; and they are as good for patients, as they are for their care providers and the taxpayer. This fall, primary health care professionals delivering mental health services are joining forces to prove Dr. Rachlis' point. With funding from Health Canada's Primary Health Care Transition Fund, a steering committee of medical and non-medical professionals with experience in mental health will launch a national initiative designed to answer the question - What would our health system look like if the health professions collaborated more? The Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative (CCMHI) has been developed by a consortium of twelve national organizations representing providers, consumers and families. They include: Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists; Canadian Association of Social Workers; Canadian Federation of Mental Health Nurses; Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health; Canadian Nurses Association; Canadian Psychological Association; Canadian Pharmacists Association; Canadian Psychiatric Association; Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Canada; Canadian Mental Health Association; College of Family Physicians of Canada; and Dietitians of Canada. By engaging the key players in mental health and primary health care, this Initiative will strive to build strategies that promote and advance collaborative mental health involving primary care practitioners, mental health care providers, consumers, families and communities. Over the next year and a half, these health care providers will seek out the many great examples of innovation happening in the mental health care field. They will also highlight what stands in the way of more change and more collaboration. In the end the CCMHI hopes to paint a picture for Canadians and professionals working in the area of mental health. That picture will likely show health providers working collaboratively, with a shared focus on the patient, generating better health outcomes more efficiently and more cost-effectively. It will also likely show that collaborative teams have the capacity to extend beyond treatment only; they also tend to find the time and energy to talk about "wellness" via their prevention and health promotion efforts. Dr. Rachlis has it right when he says we need fundamental changes to our system and more imagination. The thousands of health professionals working in the delivery of mental health services couldn't agree more. Scott Dudgeon |
