| Many people suffering from schizophrenia in Calgary are not getting the community outreach services they need to prevent them from ending up hospitalized, says Faye Herrick of the Calgary chapter of the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta.
The Calgary Health Region (CHR) has an assertive community treatment team that offers outreach services to people with schizophrenia to help them live independently. But the CHR only has one such team in the city that Herrick says doesn’t come anywhere close to meeting the demand. Schizophrenia, he points out, affects one in 100 people, and Calgary could have as many as 10,000 citizens with the mental disorder. She says many people who would benefit from the assertive community treatment team aren’t receiving any help. Herrick points out that the World Psychiatric Association recommends one assertive community treatment team for every 100,000 people.
"We have one. We should have 10," says Herrick. "Not only is that evidence of stigma and discrimination, but it is also evidence of some pretty blurry thinking."
The assertive community treatment team works specifically with people who have schizophrenia to ensure they stay on their medication. The team also helps enhance their quality of life through social, recreational and vocational activities and helps support and educate families.
Herrick says without help from the team people with schizophrenia can end up hospitalized. This costs much more than offering them help in their homes. "It would seem that our society would prefer spending a couple of grand a day taking care of an individual instead of caring for them in the community at much less cost," she says.
Judy Martin, executive director of the Calgary region of the Canadian Mental Health Association, agrees with Herrick that there need to be more assertive community treatment teams in the city. "It is community based so people are providing services in their homes rather than a hospital. That’s something we philosophically support," she says. "It impacts people’s lives in a huge way."
Martin says without such community support people "may cycle through the hospitals many times" or end up at agencies like the Calgary Drop-In Centre. Those in the program are often able to maintain their independence and their health, she says.
Also, says Martin, the Calgary Health Region has been working "really hard" to expand services but the health region is "swimming upstream" due to the large population increase that has increased demand for all health care services.
Beverley Thompson, senior manager of adult mental health services at the CHR, admits that the assertive community treatment team is currently only serving 70 to 75 clients. However, she says there are 35 different community programs for people with mental health issues in Calgary. "The assertive community treatment team is one of many that serves that particular community," says Thompson. "We’ve got a large continuum of services."
Thompson says the CHR is hoping to expand its mental health programs when the new southeast hospital is built. "We would definitely look for expansion (of the assertive community treatment team) but at this point we’ve been able to make sure those folks who need to be taken care of are taken care of," she says, explaining that the CHR has a current response time of under 24 hours when a mentally ill person is in crisis. However, Thompson admits there are often waiting lists to get into programs. |
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