Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative

PRESS RELEASE

Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Provide Mental Health Services a Priority for National Initiative

OTTAWA, October 6, 2004 -- Strengthening the capacity of primary health care providers to work together to deliver quality mental health services is the goal of a new national health care initiative launched today in Ottawa.

The Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative (CCMHI) aims to develop a national vision for the delivery of mental health care in Canada in primary health care settings. That vision foresees health care providers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines working in partnership with consumers and their families, communities and each other to deliver timely, effective, integrated and accessible mental health services. The goal is to facilitate collaboration among providers and improve patient access to prevention, health promotion, treatment/intervention and rehabilitation services from the right provider, at the right time and in the right place.

"This initiative is the result of a strong desire by each of the 12 national associations represented on our Steering Committee to work collaboratively so patients are better served" said CCMHI's Chair, Dr. Nick Kates, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and a leading proponent of shared care. "Research tells us that family physicians are dealing with more and more mental health issues. We want to enrich the system so they, and their patients, have access and support from the broad range of more specialized mental health providers."

"We want to bring the best resources to bear as we address the increasingly complex and worrisome burden of mental health issues on our national health care system," Dr. Kates continues. "We owe that to our patients and our health care professionals who also need help."

Primary care is the first point of contact with the health care system for most Canadians, and research shows there is a growing demand for mental health services. In fact, studies have shown that 85 percent of Canadians who are being treated for a psychiatric disorder indicated that they receive mental health care from their family physician, often with no involvement from other mental health care providers."

"Primary health care is about treating the whole patient throughout a life-course," said Scott Dudgeon, CCMHI Executive Director. "Mental health is an important dimension of this care and mental health care is most effective in a primary care setting when it's done collaboratively."

In response to growing consensus across the country that strengthening primary health care is a priority, Health Canada set up the Primary Health Care Transition Fund, from which CCMHI receives it's funding.

CCMHI's goals include:

• An analysis of the current state of collaborative mental health care at the primary health care level.
• The development of a charter - a shared vision of collaborative care in the domain of mental health - acceptable to all partners. The charter will inform and guide other aspects of this initiative.
• Development of specific approaches and strategies for collaborative care.
• The dissemination of initiative findings, materials, educational tools and guidelines to support the implementation and evaluation of collaborative care approaches.

Working together on CCMHI's Steering Committee are representatives of the following organizations: Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health; Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists; Canadian Association of Social Workers; Canadian Federation of Mental Health Nurses; Canadian Mental Health Association; Canadian Nurses Association; Canadian Pharmacists Association; Canadian Psychiatric Association; Canadian Psychological Association; Dietitians of Canada; Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Canada; The College of Family Physicians of Canada.

To assist with meeting these goals, CCMHI has launched a Web site at www.ccmhi.ca to encourage information exchange across the country.

"We know that some great examples of collaborative care focused on mental health exist in communities across the country," said Dudgeon. "Through our consultations, networking with health care providers and our interactive Web site, our goal is to gather information about best practices from communities, large and small, from coast to coast."

CCMHI will be launched in the context of Mental Illness Awareness Week, a pivotal week during which Canadians highlight the achievements of the many leaders and advocates involved in mental health initiatives from coast to coast. A launch event this evening at the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa will feature remarks at 6:00 p.m. by the Hon. Carolyn Bennett, Minister of State (Public Health).

For more information:

Valerie Gust
Communications Specialist
Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative
3rd Floor
2630 Skymark Avenue
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5A4
Tel.: 905-629-0900 ext 232
Fax: 905-629-0893
www.ccmhi.ca