The lack of answers or commitment from Health and Community Services Minister Ross Wiseman related to youth mental health issues shows that government has little understanding about the scope of the problem and what needs to be done to address the concerns, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones.

Jones posed several questions to the health minister in the House of Assembly earlier today, but received few answers as to whether any new commitments or improvements would be made to the system. Instead, the minister stated that his department is now reviewing a five-year old report containing several key recommendations that has been relatively ignored by the Department of Health and Community Services up until now.

“There are many deficiencies in our youth mental health service system that must be addressed,” said Ms. Jones. “One of the areas that require immediate improvement is the lack of adequate services or programs to help young people suffering from mental illness. We know of two young girls who have spent months at the Janeway on the psychiatric ward without any long-term treatment plan. According to hospital administration, this unit was designed as a short-term acute care unit for young people with behavioural problems, not as a treatment facility for mentally ill youth. There are no programs and services available here at home to help these children effectively deal with their issues.

“Government had a report in the Department of Health and Community Services for five years, yet let it sit on the shelf while the number of youth receiving treatment in programs outside the province grew from 17 in 2003 to approximately 50 today. This report could have helped improve the system over the past several years if it had been taken seriously by the minister and his government. I hope he is now seriously looking at these recommendations in an effort to find real solutions to this growing problem.”

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