The Canadian Psychological Association has released a set of recommendations focused on how to strengthen federal, provincial and territorial collaborations to improve timely access to mental health and substance use health care.
The CPA issued a release today ahead of tomorrow’s First Ministers’ meeting on health care.
The premiers are meeting in Ottawa to discuss increases to health care transfers.
The CPA says Ottawa has already promised the establishment of a Canada Mental Health Transfer, valued at $4.5-billion over five years.
Dr. Karen Cohen, CEO of the Canadian Psychological Association
CEO of the Canadian Psychological Association, Dr. Karen Cohen says mental health and substance use health services have been on the margins of health care for too long.
They have issued a list of ten recommendations to improve the delivery of mental health and substance use health services.
They include meeting the commitment to implement a Canada Mental Health Transfer and provide additional resources to the Canadian Institute for Health Information to work with provinces and territories to better track and report common indicators.
The full list of recommendations can be read below:
Recommendation 1: The federal government should accelerate the implementation of the Canada Mental Health Transfer (CMHT) and significantly increase its investment in mental health and substance use health services.
Recommendation 2: The federal government should introduce legislation to provide parity in access to mental health and substance use health services with physical health services, and to ensure that access to these services is inclusive and equity-focused. The federal government should also apply an equity lens to the renewal of the bilateral agreements.
Recommendation 3: As part of the next round of bilateral health agreements and the creation of the Canada Mental Health Transfer (CMHT), the federal government should require all jurisdictions to delineate federal and provincial-territorial contributions more clearly to funding initiatives on mental health and substance use health. This should be included in the funding agreements and all communications on the initiatives funded through the bilateral agreements and through the proposed CMHT.
Recommendation 4: The federal government should make publicly available the provincial and territorial reports to Health Canada on the use of federal funding. The federal government should also provide an
annual public report on the progress achieved on mental health and substance use health services through the bilateral health agreements and the proposed CMHT.
Recommendation 5: The federal government should collaborate with the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), the Canadian Institute for
Health Information (CIHI) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and stakeholders to create a pan-Canadian national learning network to share leading practices and lessons learned in improving access to mental health and substance use health services.
Recommendation 6: The federal government work with provinces and territories, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and key system stakeholders to set national goals to govern the renewal of bilateral mental health and substance use health agreements, and guide the implementation of the Canada Mental Health Transfer (CMHT).
Recommendation 7: In the context of renewing bilateral health agreements and implementing the Canada Mental Health Transfer (CMHT), the federal government should set aside a portion of the funding to support the scaling up of evidence-based programs and services administered through health grants with stronger accountability for results.
Recommendation 8: The federal government should provide additional resources to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) to work with the provinces and territories to accelerate efforts to track and report on common indicators.
Recommendation 9: The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) should work with stakeholders to ensure data on mental health and substance use health is more visible and accessible. CIHI should also accelerate its work to include public and private spending on mental health and substance use health services as part of its National Health Expenditures data series.
Recommendation 10: Governments should work with the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and stakeholders to expand the array of common indicators, moving beyond metrics of access to a more comprehensive data set that addresses social care, perceptions of mental health status, and the determinants of health.
