To tackle mental health waiting lists, the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, plans to expand access to psychologists in CLSCs and implement walk-in services.
As part of the National Director of Mental Health and Forensic Psychiatry Services Day, last Friday, Mr. Carmant reiterated his wish to expand mental health services in CLSCs and to have availability without appointment .
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Mr. Carmant indicated that he had a one-year plan for “territories and establishments” where he wants to open CLSC services.
“Our government, what we want to do is to bring services closer to citizens in their living environment, in their community,” he explained.
He praised the results of the Open Air program which offers mental health services to young people aged 12 to 25. A budget of 40 million is allocated to deploy an Open Area in each of the administrative regions of Quebec.
Dr. Christine Grou, president of the Order of Psychologists, believes that it is a good strategy to deploy more mental health services in CLSCs since they are one of the first places to which the population turns if needed.
“The CLSCs are what is most accessible, so restocking the CLSCs is an excellent idea because the earlier the consultations, the more we can prevent things from getting worse and more complex.” she commented.
She believes that walk-in could also be beneficial for the population since it allows “psychological education”, answers patients’ questions and removes barriers to access to the service.
For example, if a person experiences a depressive episode and it is treated quickly, this will prevent more serious depression. “And which will take longer to treat, which will precipitate work stoppage and require hospital consultations,” adds Dr. Grou. If we treat common disorders more quickly, people will be more functional and less sick. »
Dr. Grou indicates that access to psychologists in CLSCs could relieve congestion in family medical clinics, recalling that 40% of consultations with a family doctor concern common mental disorders. You still need to have enough staff and that’s where the problem lies, according to her.
“It’s certain that if we want to offer services it takes staff, but I think the intention is there,” declared the president of the Order of Psychologists.
However, there are few psychologists in the public network in CLSCs; they are more in “second or third line” services.
Not all CLSCs have a psychologist on site.
Minister Carmant recognizes that he has “great challenges” ahead of him. “Because the new generations and the post-pandemic are raising their hands much more easily for mental health problems, and I see that as a good thing,” he said. However, we must manage the increase in demand for services, and we must innovate in the way we offer services. »
He recalled that his government recently extended the offer of mental health services to social workers, sexologists, kinesiologists and guidance counselors.
Dr. Grou warns that we should not remove psychologists from other departments to put them in CLSCs. “If we put more on the front line, we should not deprive more specialized services,” she says. […] The danger would be to say that we are going to take psychologists who support oncology or cardiology patients for example, and who offer psychotherapeutic services that people need, and we are going to bring them to the front line. We must not undress Saint Peter to dress Saint Paul, in other words. »
The interest in the private sector is essentially due to salary conditions and working conditions. Dr. Grou emphasizes that there have been efforts to improve salary conditions, but she did not comment on whether it was enough. She mentioned that conditions were still far from being comparable to the private sector.
