FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 18, 2002

Stop closing psychiatric beds: OPSEU

TORONTO – A new report by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union makes it clear that the Ontario government must stop closing beds in psychiatric hospitals.

In 100 pages, Reality, Ontario’s Mental Health System isn’t working spells out a litany of pain, anguish and death caused by cuts to psychiatric services across the province. Click here for full report (.pdf)

Researcher Janet Solberg worked with union members who provide psychiatric care and union staff to survey the situation across Ontario for citizens afflicted by mental illness. Through newspaper reports, recommendations of coroners’ inquests and discussions with front line staff, Reality spells out a crisis facing vulnerable people in every corner of the province.

• In London and St. Thomas, patients can’t get into the psychiatric hospital even though the beds exist, because the hospital has frozen admissions despite a long waiting list. (Page 11)
• In Hamilton and Niagara, a schizophrenic tried to murder his father after he was released too soon, despite his mother’s protests that he wasn’t ready to come home. (Pages 13)
• Toronto, once “the jewel” in the system, has lost researchers in both mental illness and addictions through the combining of services for the two distinct areas of disorders. Seven people have died, three by suicide, while waiting for treatment. (Page 71ff)
• In Whitby, lack of appropriate service means more patients are acting out in more violent ways. (Page 77)
• In Penetanguishene people show up, psychotic, at general hospitals and take emergency room beds because there are no beds to serve them in the psychiatric hospital. (Page 80ff)
• A front line worker in Kingston says, “We discharge to Tim Horton’s basically, or to the kind of home where, it the client gets sick, they’ll lock him up in a motel outside of town for two weeks.” (Page 85)
• In Ottawa, workers point to grinding poverty as the fate for the mentally ill outside of hospitals, and long waiting lists for treatment. One client waved a machete around because it was the only way he knew to get help immediately. (Page 92)
• In North Bay, staff point to burnout as they do their best to maintain people who are stuck in substandard living conditions. (Page 95)
• And In Thunder Bay an excellent supportive housing program is being closed down by the government. (Page 22)

Across the province the services for those with multiple problems are virtually non-existent.

OPSEU has a long record of speaking out on problems in mental health care in the province, going back to the publication of Ontario’s Mental health Care Breakdown in 1979 and Madness: An Indictment of the Mental Health Care System in Ontario in 1981.

Reality follows on that history of concern over the neglect of the mentally ill.

Its 12 recommendations are:

1. The province must stop closing beds in the current and former Provincial Psychiatric Hospitals (PPHs) as there is an urgent and demonstrable need for those beds.

2. The province must order an increase in the number of acute mental health beds in Ontario’s hospitals in order to eliminate waiting lists and prevent the practice of prematurely discharging patients from hospitals.

3. The province must order an increase in forensic beds in psychiatric hospitals to alleviate the wide-spread problem of the mentally ill being in our jails and correctional centres and eliminate waiting lists at hospitals.

4. The province must legislate and enforce standards of quality and care wherever services to the mentally ill are provided, including but not limited to housing, and establish an accountable provincial body to enforce the standards.

5. All general hospital emergency rooms must have skilled and qualified psychiatric staff on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

6. The province must ensure that every psychiatric consumer has the right to publicly-funded and publicly-delivered mental health services. Support services in hospitals, such as laundry, dietary, housekeeping, security and maintenance are an integral part of publicly-funded health care and should not be contracted out.

7. The province must increase the income support that individuals receive from the Ontario Disability Support Program in order to more adequately and humanely meet the needs of the mentally ill.

8. The province must develop and implement publicly-funded and publicly-operated community supports for the mentally ill, including supportive housing for consumers who are discharged from hospitals.

9. The province must develop and implement social and vocational rehabilitation programming to meet the needs of the mentally ill and integrate it into the continuous care model.

10. The province must not allow the closure of beds, programs and services in the former and current Provincial Psychiatric Hospitals until their equivalent is available in the community.

11. Community agencies must not have the right to refuse consumers.

12. The province must study the impacts of the integration of addiction and mental health services at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto before undertaking any further integration of addiction and mental health services.

In her acknowledgements, OPSEU President Leah Casselman expresses pride in the union’s record of advocacy for the mentally ill.

“The tragedy is that so many governments have failed to listen to the heart-felt pleas of front line workers and the clients they serve. May this be the last time we have to convey this message,” Casselman said.

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For further information:

click here for full report (.pdf)
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, First Vice-President/Treasurer, OPSEU: 416-443-8888 or 1-800-268-7376 ext. 303
Katie FitzRandolph: 416-448-7440 or cell 416-788-9057 or kfitzrandolph@opseu.org

Regional contacts:

London and St. Thomas: Dave Erskine, Local 152, cell: 519-765-8660.
Hamilton and Niagara: Ed Zacharewski, Local 206, 905-522-1155 ext. 6644
Toronto: Nancy Pridham, Local 500, 416-532-2712
Whitby: Joan Gates, Local 331, 905-435-3003
Penetanguishene: Martha McDonald, Local 329, 705-549-3181 ext 2312, or Al Donaldson, Local 307, 705-526-9138
Kingston: Maurice Broadfoot, Local 431, 613-548-5597
Brockville: David McDougall, Local 439, 613-345-1461 ask to have him paged or Melinda Held, Local 441, 613-928-3460
Ottawa: Marlene Rivier, Local 479, 613-828-2990
North Bay: Tony Morabito, Local 636, 705-497-1909
Sudbury: Dave Wiley, Local 666, 705-522-0702
Thunder Bay: Doris Meredith, 720, 807-472-6020