CAMH applauds outline for developing provincial mental health and addictions strategy

Toronto – July 14, 2009 - CAMH welcomes today’s release by the Hon. David Caplan, Ontario’s Minister of Health and Long Term Care, of Every Door is an Open Door - Towards a 10-Year Mental Health and Addictions Strategy: A Discussion Paper, as an important step forward for the thousand of Ontarians from every walk of life who are affected by these problems.

In setting out to plan for both mental health and addictions services together, this document aims to address one of the great gaps that exists in our healthcare system today.

In fact, better integration of these services was integral to the vision underlying CAMH’s creation 11 years ago from the amalgamation of four addiction and mental health organizations.

The discussion paper also highlights other vital directions which CAMH shares as key priorities, including the emphasis on prevention, health promotion and early identification of mental health and addiction problems. Moreover, as a leading research facility dedicated to culturally competent and client-centred care, CAMH is heartened by the emphasis in the discussion paper on “evidence-based’ and “person-directed” services.

Much progress has been made in many of these areas, but CAMH shares the Minister’s view that a vast amount of work lies before us to better serve those who contend with mental illness and/or addiction every day. Stigma, funding levels, and the capacity of treatment services to act as a system remain serious impediments to these people getting the services they need.

CAMH President & CEO Dr. Paul Garfinkel, who chaired the Ministry’s July 13 and 14 summit at which the framework was released, lauded the Minister’s leadership in making mental health and addiction a priority issue.

“Minister Caplan will be able to make his mark by helping to change the way these issues are viewed in our society, and by putting them at the centre of the way we deliver healthcare, where they belong,” Dr. Garfinkel said.

Dr. Garfinkel added that CAMH looks forward to working closely with the Minister and his advisory group to build on the framework and develop and implement an action plan.

“On a personal note, I would also like to recognize the Minister for his courage in relating publicly how his own family has been touched by these issues,” Dr. Garfinkel said.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in addiction and mental health. CAMH transforms the lives of people impacted by mental health and addiction by integrating clinical care, scientific research, education, policy development and health promotion.

For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care website to read the document Every Door is an Open Door (PDF).