FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2006
Report shows St.
Joseph’s Health Care continues to cut mental health beds:
OPSEU
LONDON – A confidential
report for the Ontario Ministry of Health shows that St.
Joseph’s Health Care (SJHC London) has aggressively cut beds
for people with serious mental illness despite the lack of
community programs.
The March 2006 report,
prepared by the Deloitte consulting group, was obtained
under a Freedom of Information request by the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union (OPSEU).
“People with serious mental
illness were told that community programs would be in place
before beds and programs were cut,” said Dave Erskine,
president, OPSEU Local 152, which represents mental health
staff at SJHC London. “Clearly, neither the previous
Conservative nor the current Liberal government kept that
promise.”
The Deloitte consultants
examined three years of financial and admissions data and
the mental health programs of four hospitals, including SJHC
London, which took over provincial psychiatric facilities.
London and St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospitals were transferred
to SJHC London in February, 2001.
The report found:
- The number of beds for
people with an addiction and mental illness were
“dramatically reduced” by more than 55 per cent from 28
to 12 and that the program is only operating at 50 per
cent capacity because of a psychiatrists shortage (p.
58);
- The hospital wants to
reduce by a third from 18 to 12 the number of beds for
people with a developmental disability and mental
illness, despite the fact that the “primary challenge
facing this program is the insufficient level of
appropriate community resources to adequately house
these long-standing patients” (p. 61);
- The hospital eliminated
seven nursing positions in its forensic unit, despite
the fact that “admissions increased significantly” to
135 per cent over target; (p. 59)
- The Ministry of Health
stopped the hospital from reducing both its London and
St. Thomas inpatient beds by 40 per cent but did allow a
15 per cut in beds; (p. 62, 66); and
- The hospital wants to
shift its program for people with a complex mood
disorder (such as severe depression) to a more
“consultative” level of care despite the fact this
overhaul “requires greater support and resource
availability for outpatient and community based
services” (p. 67).
The Deloitte consultants also
found that hospital management can’t account for $14 million
in ministry funding the hospital received in 2003 for the
harmonization of wages. (p. 72) …/2
Erskine warned more cuts to
mental health programs and beds are expected in the near
future. The report noted that senior hospital managers are
working with other hospitals and community agencies on more
changes. (p. 56)
“I see this report as a
wake-up call for the Liberal government and, in particular,
for area MPPs Steve Peters and Chris Bentley,” said Erskine.
“We want an immediate moratorium on further mental health
restructuring and we expect Peters and Bentley to deliver
that message to their cabinet colleagues.”
The three other hospitals
reviewed in the report are St. Joseph’s Health Care,
Hamilton, Providence Continuing Care Centre in Kingston and
Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, Brockville. Of the 21 mental
health programs profiled in the report, two-thirds had
trouble discharging patients due to a lack of community
services.
The Deloitte report can be
viewed at
http://www.opseu.org/bps/health/mental/deloittereport.htm
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For further information:
Dave Erskine (519)
631-8510 ext. 49500 or (519) 765-8660
Megan Park (416) 443-8888 ext. 8207
