Ontario barely gets passing grade for mental health/substance care: report

0
Ontario barely gets passing grade for mental health/substance care: report


Ontario barely gets passing grade for mental health/substance care: report

Ontario is one of the few provinces to make any progress while mental health and substance services have been suffering across Canada. 

Information from the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) has indicated that for the second consecutive year, mental health and substance use programs across Canada have been substantially underperforming. 

“The message is loud and clear, provincial and federal governments are failing Canadians when it comes to ensuring timely access to publicly funded mental health and substance use health services,” said Florence Budden, CAMIMH Co-Chair in an official statement. 

However, despite reforms to Ontario’s approach to substance use care, data collected on behalf of CAMIMH indicated that the province has seen a slight uptick in quality of care — jumping from an ‘F’ grade in 2023 to a ‘D’ grade in 2024. 

A breakdown of provincial data via CAMIMH’s “Annual Report Card” is as follows:

Access D
Public Confidence  D
Satisfaction F
Effectiveness F
Total Score D

 

come from away musical toronto
heartland town centre new opening


While Ontario, alongside British Columbia and Manitoba, has demonstrated minor progress —  all squeaking by with a passing grade of  ‘D’ — the general picture of mental health and substance use care in Canada is grim, as all remaining provinces have been graded ‘Fs’ across the board. 

“More must be done to ensure that people in need of support for their mental health and substance use health can get the care they need when they need it,” stated Budden.

Officials at CAMIMH are not the only ones rallying for mass reform, as data provided by the organization indicated that 90 per cent of Canadians consider timely access to these services vital.

Operating parallel to this national desire is the fact that, according to CAMIMH, 21 per cent of Canada’s population will meet the criteria for some form of mental health or substance disorder in their lifetimes. 

Despite this metric, stigma around these requirements is a key variable that landed Canada in this position, as Anthony Esposti, second CAMIMH Co-Chair stated “Deeply held, false beliefs about substance use health stigma exist within our governments and systems of care. It’s time for governments to accelerate their response to what is important to the people of Canada and invest now to improve outcomes for those looking for help.” 

Beyond the mathematics behind the human cost, CAMIMH has also crunched the numbers for the overall price tag that untreated substance and mental illness is costing Canadians — a total of $50 billion. 

At the time of publication, CAMIMH’s data shows that only six per cent of provincial budgets in Canada go towards mental health and substance use care. To remedy this, CAMIMH urges that provincial and federal governments create a unified plan to address what healthcare professionals have deemed a national crisis. 

For more information on, CAMIMH’s report, visit their official website. 

INsauga’s Editorial Standards and Policies

Stay informed & WIN a $100 Shopping Spree!

Subscribe to our daily newsletter and you could win a $100 shopping spree at Sherway Gardens or Eaton Centre!

One lucky subscriber is chosen every week!

link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *