Working Group continues to advocate for better mental health care

     Parker gave up an update on the Working Group’s efforts during the June 5 MOPC Council Meeting.

     “I’ve often said if I have a heart attack tonight, they’re going to take me to the hospital and if they can’t help me they’re going to send me to another hospital. They’re not going to tell me to go home,” Parker said.

     Such has not always been the case for people who are struggling with mental health, he says.

     “They’re being told to go home and make their house safe,” Parker said, based on conversations he’s had with people who have tried to seek help for themselves or their loved ones.

     The results have often been tragic.

     “In the last year and a half, I could name off a dozen people in this county who have taken their own lives – mostly young people,” Parker said.

     The Working Group was created to help address those concerns and now includes representation from all six municipalities within Pictou County.

      Parker said they have three main areas they want to see improved.

     No. 1 is the way people are triaged. He said it’s not right for people who are having a mental health issue to have to wait between eight and 12 hours to be seen.

     No. 2 is for there to be 24/7 mental health help available and not just during regular business hours. While it doesn’t have to necessarily be a psychiatrist, he said it should be someone who can help them get through the night until they can meet with one.

     And No. 3 is for beds to be available at the hospital, so patients can wait at the Aberdeen Hospital if there isn’t room at the Truro hospital for them. Currently, if there is no room in Truro, where the closest mental health unit is located, patients can be sent to hospitals as far away as Cape Breton or Yarmouth.
     Parker said the Working Group had the opportunity to present these areas of need to Brian Comer, Nova Scotia’s Minister Responsible for the Office of Addictions and Mental Health.

     The Working Group also recently had two mothers who both lost their sons because of mental health issues come and speak about the need for better care. Parker said their heartbreaking stories really helped make the importance of this issue and the toll it has on families apparent.

     He believes progress has been made on the triaging of patients who go to the Aberdeen Hospital with a mental health problem. He said they’ve also heard work is being done to ensure 24/7 help is available. Getting more beds available is a bit more difficult given the struggles in the health care sector in general, but he’s hopeful positive change will eventually happen.

     “We won’t stop working until we reach those three goals,” he said. “They’re absolutely essential for this county.”

PHOTO INFO: This rock was painted by a mother who lost her son to mental health issues and spoke to the Crisis Mental Health Working Group about the need for better care in the Northern Region.