P.E.I. looks to Newfoundland to reduce mental health care waits

Health P.E.I. is implementing a system developed in Newfoundland and Labrador that reduced wait times for mental health care there by 67 per cent.

It's called Stepped Care 2.0. At its core, it works by having a majority of patients never be put on a waiting list.

"Many of those people that show up, they're looking for information today, and there may be something they can get just at that first connection with a health-care professional that can get them going. And that may be all they need," said Dr. AnnMarie Churchill, executive director and interim president of Stepped Care Solutions, and a psychology research fellow at Memorial University.

"The majority of people actually need information and need a short-term intervention."

By providing that information or intervention at the first meeting, Stepped Care 2.0 removes the need to put those patients on a wait list, saving that for those that require more complex services.

Reaching people how they want it

Stepped Care Solutions is a partnership between Memorial University and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It launched in 2017, and is also now being used in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.

In addition to a focus on providing some services immediately, the program also provides a variety of methods for people to access them, including telehealth and web-based services in addition to walk-in clinics.

"This was before the pandemic, so really reaching people where they wanted and how they wanted to access services." said Danielle Impey, manager of Access to Quality Mental Health Services at the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

An important part of the program is providing services how and when people want them, so there's no one-size-fits-all approach. In implementing the system on the Island, Health P.E.I. has invited people with experience on the patient end of the system to advise them.

"We have them sitting at the table with us to guide us along the way," 

"We really want them to come along with us and share their perspectives on how they think this can work." Lorna Hutt, director of community mental health and addictions with Health P.E.I.

Health P.E.I. has been training staff how to operate under the Stepped Care model and has already launched it in several areas of the province. Staff are being trained to offer immediate help, if possible, by phone, drop-in clinic or e-mental health services. 

Expansion of the program will continue in the new year.