Achi news desk-
Quebec hopes to expand a new model of care for emergency room patients experiencing a mental health crisis.
The model has been in place at Montreal’s Notre Dame Hospital for several months, and on Monday Health and Social Services Minister Lionel Clement announced a plan to expand the measures to other hospitals.
A “short intervention team” will now treat patients in crisis who need to be stabilized.
The move, Clement said, would free up beds for more severe psychiatric cases.
“They can have 48 to 72 hours in an intensive brief intervention unit, so you can avoid hospitalization,” he said.
The goal is to make hospitalization a last resort.
All patients leaving the hospital receive follow-up care in the community to ensure no one falls through the cracks.
Those who need it can get access to a measure called “psychiatric home hospitalization”, where a nurse, psychiatrist or social worker will visit the patient’s home up to three times a day for six to eight weeks.
“This can prevent a long hospitalization and can also help the team to observe what is happening in the hospital. This leads to a better interaction between the family and the care team,” explained Carmen.
Quebec Minister of Social Services Lionel Clement (Christine Moshi / The Canadian Press)
The pilot project began in January, and Notre Dame Hospital said that about 90% of those who received home care did not return to the emergency room.
The treatment people receive is also more focused, explained Dr. Cedric Anders, head of the department of psychiatry at Notre Dame Hospital.
“We treat the right patient at the right moment, in the right place. That’s the difference. So the quality of care increases a lot,” he said.
Lawyers in Quebec have often criticized a lack of mental health resources and long wait times.
Notre Dame has hired about 10 employees for its brief intervention team and another 40 for its inpatient team.
Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal (CTV News)
Clement said he is optimistic that other hospitals will be able to do the same.
“Well, these are innovative initiatives that lead to hiring. People are excited about these new programs. And the team here has done an unbelievable team and an unbelievable job and been able to recruit, without reducing services elsewhere,” he said.
Clement said he hopes to eventually expand such programs to hospitals across the county.
