Pilot project aims to treat Montreal mental health patients at home, not the ER
Quebec is hoping to expand on a new model of care for patients in the emergency room experiencing a mental health crisis.
The model has been in place at Notre-Dame Hospital in Montreal for several months, and on Monday, Health and Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant announced a plan to expand the measures to other hospitals.
A "brief intervention team" will now care for patients in crisis who need to be stabilized.
The measure, said Carmant, will free up beds for more severe psychiatric cases.
"They can have 48 to 72 hours in a unit of intensive short intervention, 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 have access to a measure called "psychiatric home hospitalization," where the patient will be visited at their home by a nurse, a psychiatrist, or social worker up to three times a day for six to eight weeks.
"It can prevent long hospitalization and can help the team as well observe what's happening at the house of the patients. And it leads to a better interaction between family and the treating team," explained Carmant.
Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant (Christinne Muschi / The Canadian Press)
The pilot project started at in January, and Notre-Dame Hospital said about 90 per cent of those receiving home care did not return to the ER.
The care people receive is also more targeted, explained Dr. Cedric Andres, chief of psychiatry at the Notre-Dame Hospital.
"We are treating the right patient at the right moment, at the right place. This is the difference. So the quality of the care is vastly increased," he said.
Advocates in Quebec have often criticized a lack of mental health resources and long wait times.
Notre-Dame recruited about 10 employees for its brief intervention team and another 40 for its home hospitalization team.
Notre-Dame Hospital in Montreal (CTV News)
Carmant said he's optimistic other hospitals will be able to do the same.
"Well, those are innovative initiatives which lead to recruitment. People are excited about these new programs. And the team here did an unbelievable team and unbelievable work and being able to recruit, without decreasing services elsewhere," he said.
Carmant said he hopes to eventually expand programs like these to hospitals throughout the province.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.