Instead of waiting months, this Nova Scotian saw psychiatrist in days under new program

Some Nova Scotians who need help managing mental health issues are being assessed by psychiatrists within days under a new program introduced by the province's health authority.

The service, launched in April in Nova Scotia Health's central zone, is focused on early intervention treatment for a range of mental health disorders.

The goal of the rapid access and stabilization program, which has seen more than 250 people so far, is to speed up access to specialist mental health care, in light of delays some patients have faced when seeking appointments.

"I really needed to speak with someone," said 30-year-old Taylor Brown, who was referred to the program through a walk-in clinic and was able to see a psychiatrist within three days.

Brown, who is from Halifax, had previously been referred to a specialist for persistent feelings of anxiety and fear, but said she had been waiting for more than two years for an appointment. During that time, she said, "my condition worsened."

Feeling like a 'normal person'

Her feelings could be so acute they were taking over both her personal life and her work as a software developer. 

"I was spending six to eight hours a day checking my phone thinking that I had physical illnesses or mental illnesses, I would get this fear in my head," she said.

She was assessed by a psychiatrist under the rapid access program, and was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. A month and half later, through prescribed coping strategies and medication, she is feeling like she is making huge strides.

"I've been doing so much better," she said. "Being able to, you know, be a normal person."

Brown was assessed by Dr. Jason Morrison, one of four psychiatrists who work at the program's clinic inside the Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building in Halifax. Morrison then sent a treatment plan to Brown's primary care provider to manage her condition from there, which is the model of the program.

It is a new pathway Morrison said is filling a gap in the system by treating people who are not severely ill but still need help.

"People that are generally functioning pretty well, have a job, have a place to live, but are kind of living with a lot of suffering, anxiety or depression," he said, "they often don't necessarily see a psychiatrist."

Stacy Lillington, a nurse practitioner in the Halifax area, said she has seen improvements in patients she has referred to the program. She has then followed the treatment plans psychiatrists have sent back to her at the Kearney Lake Primary Care Clinic.

"We're implementing all of these recommendations made by psychiatry, we're developing a comprehensive plan of care, and the mental illness issues are being addressed much more promptly," Lillington said.

Nova Scotia Health said people in emergency mental health situations are seen immediately. 

However, data on the Nova Scotia wait times website indicates patients in the central health zone with non-urgent issues can wait more than 100 days for a first appointment with a mental health clinician.

The rapid access stabilization program aims to provide direct access to psychiatrists within four weeks.

"In its very early days we have met the target," said Dr. Vincent Agyapong, who is the chief of psychiatry for Nova Scotia Health's central zone.

The clinic is now seeing about eight patients every day, he said.

"This is a very good way of ensuring that in the future we reduce the number of people who are having chronic, severe, persistent mental illness, because the evidence suggests early intervention equates to better prognosis," Agyapong said. 

The impact the program is having is being studied now, he said, including analysis on whether the service is reducing pressure on emergency rooms.

Agyapong is keen to add additional resources and clinical space to the program.

Matt White, Nova Scotia Health's director of the mental health and addiction program in the central zone, said in a statement that early feedback is positive and data is being gathered and measured to determine the impact on patients' health outcomes. Decisions on resources will be based on data collected over time, the statement said.