The parents of a child with a mental health disorder are pleading with the province to recognize a gap in critical care.
Owen and Kelly BradleyB次元官网网址檚 11-year-old daughter B次元官网网址� who they asked not be named B次元官网网址� has bipolar disorder, an illness marked by mood swings that sometimes lead to violence. She was nine when she received the diagnosis.
On Jan. 2, her behaviour become so erratic that police took her to Victoria General Hospital under the Mental Health Act. She spent four days there in a safe room.
B次元官网网址淭he crisis team can come to your house, but if a person is violent toward herself, they tell you to call 911 and take her to the hospital,B次元官网网址� Kelly says, sitting in the living room of their Fernwood home.
The Bradleys asked for help, knowing their daughter was in need of serious psychiatric and medical support.
Doctors called Jack Ledger House, a 13-bed childrenB次元官网网址檚 mental health facility in Saanich that serves all of Vancouver Island. But a weeks-long wait list meant the Bradleys had to bring their daughter home.
Since then, the girlB次元官网网址檚 behaviour has landed her back in VGH on two other occasions. Doctors had no choice but to discharge her again after they ruled out physical symptoms. B次元官网网址淎s soon as they get the results back (from brain scans), they discharge her because itB次元官网网址檚 a mental health issue,B次元官网网址� Kelly says.
To shed light on this gap in care, the Bradleys created an online petition that calls on B.C. Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid to fund acute crisis beds for children, staffed with dedicated child psychiatrists and specially trained nurses.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a tall order, but the couple says too many families are suffering in silence. Since starting the petition, families B次元官网网址渇rom all over B.C.B次元官网网址� have contacted them with similar complaints of a gaping hole in the system.
The decision to speak publicly about a childB次元官网网址檚 struggle with mental health doesnB次元官网网址檛 come easy.
B次元官网网址淭hese families deal with stigma. So do the patients, and the care providers and child psychiatrists,B次元官网网址� says Dr. Clare Wood, a child psychiatrist with the Vancouver Island Health Authority.
Wood asserts child and adolescent psychiatry and childrenB次元官网网址檚 health is under-serviced, a problem she says has worsened over her 15 years of working with Island families. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 have an inpatient acute crisis program. We need one thatB次元官网网址檚 funded and staffed, including child and adolescent psychiatry. The space at Victoria General Hospital is inadequate for this purpose.B次元官网网址�
WoodB次元官网网址檚 job is made more difficult by the fact childrenB次元官网网址檚 mental health and psychiatric services are spread between the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Health.
The result is a lack of co-ordination and fragmented service delivery, she says.
B次元官网网址淥verall, itB次元官网网址檚 very, very frustrating to see what our patients and their families go through.B次元官网网址�
The umbrella of the Ministry of Children and Family Development covers community-based care for B.C. residents under 19 with mental health challenges, and provides forensic psychiatric services for youth who have become involved with the law.
The ministry also oversees the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre in Burnaby B次元官网网址� which provides .
The Ministry of Health retains overall responsibility for acute mental health services on the Island, such as Ledger House, while programs are run by VIHA.
B次元官网网址淚 have the utmost compassion and respect for the challenges families in this situation face every day,B次元官网网址� said VIHA spokesperson Sarah Plank.
The health authority is taking measurable steps to meet increased demand for mental health services, she said, including the recent addition of a full-time mental health clinician on VGHB次元官网网址檚 pediatrics unit.
The hospital also has a a crisis co-ordinator and a child psychiatrist, and staff are in the process of expanding the hours of trained crisis nurses in the emergency room, Plank said.
Part of VIHAB次元官网网址檚 solution to acute care is tts 24-hour crisis line and integrated mobile crisis response team. The team sees mental health clinicians, social workers, a nurse and plainclothes police officers combine to respond to children and families needing on-site services.
But the reality for the Bradleys B次元官网网址搕hey have five other adopted children between the ages of two and 19 B次元官网网址� is that they are largely left to fend for themselves.
B次元官网网址淲e called the crisis line,B次元官网网址� Kelly said. B次元官网网址淎ll but once, theyB次元官网网址檝e told us to call 911, because they could hear our daughter in the background.B次元官网网址�
The couple hopes the province will approve them for respite funding and allow them to hire a part-time care aid beyond the eight hours a week they now receive.
But the administrative hoops they jump through for each application and reassessment feels endless.
B次元官网网址淭hey only release funding for a three- to six-month period,B次元官网网址� Owen said.
In a report released Jan. 17, B.C. auditor general John Doyle revealed the province spent about $915 million on mental health and addictions last year, around six per cent of its $15-billion budget.
Those large numbers donB次元官网网址檛 mean much to the Bradleys. While their daughter was finally admitted to Ledger House on Monday after a 19-day wait, the problem isnB次元官网网址檛 going away.
B次元官网网址淵ou pay it up front now, or society is going to pay for it later,B次元官网网址� Kelly said.
No family wants to send their child to care B次元官网网址� We donB次元官网网址檛 want people to feel like theyB次元官网网址檙e alone or that they have to hide from the world because their child (has)a mental health issue.B次元官网网址�
To read the Bradleys petition, visit .
dpalmer@vicnews.com
By the numbers
B次元官网网址� The Vancouver Island Health AuthorityB次元官网网址檚 budget for mental health and addictions jumped from $108 million in 2010-11, to $143 million last year, or about 7.7 per cent of its total budget.
B次元官网网址� Fraser Health Authority spent five per cent of its budget on mental health and addictions; the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority spent nine per cent.
Source: B.C. Auditor General report
