As psychiatrists departed Western Health, outpatient wait times jumped

In 2019, after someone called the mental health service line for help on Jordan Stringer's behalf, a crisis team was at his doorstep at a moment's notice.

He says that moment helped save his life.

"I'm very, very grateful for the crisis response team," Stringersaid in an interview from his Corner Brook home. "I'm so grateful for that unknown person, whoever called."

Stringerwas soon able to see a psychiatrist who helped him navigate through his mental health struggles.But that psychiatrist left the province last year and so did three others from the Western Health region.

"The last time I saw them was in January of 2022," he said. "So it's been over a year."

After those psychiatrists left the region, Western Health saw a spike in the wait times for outpatient psychiatry care, according to data obtained by CBC News through access to information.

Median wait times for 2021 started at 36 days in January, but had ballooned to 66 days by the end of thatyear.

The wait times increased again in 2022, doubling to 131 days at the beginning of the summer. The number remained at over 100 days heading into the fall.

In comparison, median wait times for the Central Health region for 2022 ranged from 14 to 33 days.

Western Health says the numbers have come down slightly since, with median wait times now at 78 days.

"We feel confident that our patients will certainly be seen within reasonable time," said Melissa Roberts, the health authority's acting regional director of mental health and addictions services.

Roberts says Western Health is implementing a shared care model where psychiatry will work with primary healthcare providers and other healthcare professionals.

And they are working on filling psychiatrist positions.

"With our new hospital we're opening within the next year, we certainly feel confident that recruitment will be successful," she said.

Earlier this month, a flyer was distributed to Western Health patients emphasizing the authority's inability to provide follow-up psychiatry appointments. It even advised clients without a family physician to look at private care options within the community.

"It terrifies me, quite honestly," mental health advocate Kristi Allan told CBC News.

"That letter was given out, I assume, because we have a shortage of psychiatrists and we don't have enough mental health services."

Allan says it's unacceptable for a regional health authority to advise clients without family doctors to seek private options. She says that does not acknowledge the inability of many uninsured residents in this province to pay out of pocket for healthcare.

"As someone who advocates for long-term mental health care, this was a slap in the face [to]everything I believe in," Allan said.

Roberts said Western Health "certainly apologizes" for that memo.

"The intent of that memo was certainly to be transparent with our clients with regards to our services," she noted.

More funding and better pay needed, say advocates

The only way to solve the issue, according to Stringerand Allan, is to adequately fund the public health-care system.

"I think we need to pay our doctors the best we can pay them," said Stringer.

The TowardsRecovery action plan was released by the provincial Department of Health in 2017.

It made a series of recommendations to improve mental health services in the province.

The report recommendedincreasing provincial mental health and addictions spending to nine per cent by April 2022.

The government reported spending $236 million in the area of mental health and addictions during the 2021-2022 fiscal year, which represents an allocation of 7.6 per cent lower than that target.

"So they didn't even deliver on their promise," said Allan.

In a statement, the Health Department stressed thatthe government has increased spending in mental health by over $40 million since the implementation of the report, and is more than halfway to reaching that nine-per-cent goal.

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