By Andrew Macdonald
The mental health file is near and dear to me, so I was delighted to speak with NDP leader Gary Burrill about his proposed solutions to wait times that can see a person wait a year to see a mental health practitioner.
In a recent chat Tory leader Jamie Baillie said the mental health file is the biggest health crisis of our times.
Baillie raised the issue during the spring campaign, and over the last four years as Opposition leader has consistently and constantly given a voice to the crisis, calling the matter the most profound crisis in the contemporary life of the province, and its people.
He raises the matter, not exactly a vote-getting issue, even though there is a big society stigma over mental illnesses.
For his part, Burrill has also addressed the issue, which he agrees is a crisis and completely unacceptable.
“Imagine a person going to a hospital and saying they have shooting pains up their left arm and getting an appointment to come back in three weeks. If you have those symptoms, you are going to see one dramatic effective and quick treatment,” he says.
“We have all kinds of parts of Nova Scotia where people have severe anxiety and depression and they go see their family doctor but appointments for mental health practitioners is six to eight months into the future,” he tells The Macdonald Notebook.
He says patients needing mental health should also have quick treatments, “and so they can access that help right now.”
One solution to ease the crisis is for MSI (Nova Scotia Medical Insurance) to cover people who see private practice psychologists. A trip to such a therapist for an hour-long session can cost up to $145, usually out of pocket for many people.
Yet trips to see a GP, and even a psychiatrist are paid by MSI, but not for psychologists.
Burrill says that creates a two-tiered system in Nova Scotia. Some people can pay out of pocket to see a psychologist, while the majority of people can’t afford that. Average health plans usually only pay for two psychology visits.
Burrill, the new NDP MLA for Halifax Needham, advocates MSI paying the tab to see a psychologist.
“We do have a system that Medicare was designed to overcome, a two-tiered system,” he says.
Burrill said the government, through Dalhousie teacher Dr. Stan Kutcher, has a plan to address a high rate of teen suicides in Cape Breton by hiring more school therapists, but he argues the plan should be rolled out across the rest of Nova Scotia.
“This is an expensive thing to provide, but we need to have the same effectiveness on the ground for mental help that we provide for other medical services,” Burrill tells The Macdonald Notebook.
