Counselling services improved after suicides in Labrador West, says health minister

Health Minister John Haggie says in the weeks since he told the House of Assembly about a spate of suicides in Labrador West, new supports have been put in place for people dealing with mental health issues in that region.

Haggie says mental health counsellors are offering extended hours on evenings and weekends and allowing people to walk in without having to be referred.

As of Friday, they felt that they had what they needed for the foreseeable short-term.- John Haggie

He also says Labrador Grenfell Health will offer mental health first aid training to community groups.

"What we need is available. Labrador Grenfell staff have worked very hard to deal with this," said Haggie, who last week met with counsellors and other Labrador Grenfell Health employees in Labrador City.

"As of Friday, they felt that they had what they needed for the foreseeable short-term."

• IOC connected to recent Labrador West suicides: health minister

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In November, Haggie responded to a question in the House of Assembly about suicide in western Labrador, where a drop in the price of iron ore led to layoffs for hundreds of mineworkers and high tensions on the job, according to a union official.

Haggie told the House that five people in that region took their own lives over eight months.

Three were working for the Iron Ore Company of Canada at the time of their deaths — the other two had connections to the company, as well.

Haggie said he's spoken to the company, which deployed an on-the-ground counsellor to supplement its over-the-phone employee assistance program.

"I think they're open to discussing any option that the union and the community feel would improve matters," Haggie said. "I found they were very receptive to ideas."

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One of the biggest challenges to providing good mental health care, Haggie said, is communication.

He said people aren't aware of all the programs and services that are available, and many still struggle with the stigma around mental illness.

"I'm hoping that longer term, one of the things that might come out of this whole unfortunate sequence of events is that people might get over some of that and actually start talking about some of their mental health issues."

No commitment to hire psychiatrist 

The provincial government and the regional health authority, Labrador Grenfell Health, have been criticized for failing to fill a psychiatrist position that hass been vacant since 2015.

Dr. Minal Mistry, the psychiatrist who last held the job, told CBC he believes the position is essential. Instead of hiring, officials have opted to bring in visiting doctors and conduct appointments over the phone or via video link.

Haggie said the system is working well and that hiring a psychiatrist isn't as easy as posting a job ad.

"Quite frankly there is an enormous challenge to recruit one specialist to do anything anywhere,"  he said.

"We've recruited and people have left very rapidly because they find working unsupported with no other physician colleagues, the challenges of travel, the challenges of geography don't work for traditional mental health psychiatry."

• Labrador West needs more psychiatry care, says former doctor
• Health authority proud of Lab West care despite recent suicides, CEO says

When asked if Labrador Grenfell planned to fill the position left vacant by Dr. Mistry, Haggie said "the plan at the moment is to use the resources we've got," and that the health authority would be better position to answer that question.

Labrador-Grenfell Health said Monday it continues to "actively recruit" a full-time psychiatrist on its PracticeNL website.

The position requires travel within the region, the ad states, and includes care at facilities in Labrador City, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and St. Anthony.

A Newfoundland-based psychiatrist applied and was hired for the position to start in January 2017, but the application was withdrawn and the position remains open.