The Provincial Auditor is recommending that the Saskatchewan Health Authority assess whether mental health and addictions services in the Northeast are meeting clients demands.

Judy Ferguson examined the former Prince Albert Parkland Health Region for the 2016-17 year.

Ferguson found the demand for services, is outpacing the facility’s ability to meet the demand. “We found that the demand for these services was out pacing the health regions capacity to supply them. PA Health Region did not always provide mental health and addictions services in a timely manner. We found its mental health inpatient beds were frequently full,” Ferguson said.

The occupancy rates for inpatient mental health wards for adults was 84 percent and 95 percent for youth.  Ferguson notes that last year, staff refused detox service to over 2500 clients or 44 percent of its client base. “It increasingly turned away clients seeking detox services. In 2017 it turned away over 2500 clients. At the same time it’s funding and staffing remained flat,” Ferguson explained.

Over the past two years, the Parkland Health Region saw an increase of patients by approximately 2000. Ferguson’s report states that mental health and addictions services were not always offered in a timely manner, as the facility’s ability to recruit and retain health care professionals was sometimes delayed. “The Saskatchewan Health Authority needs a comprehensive reassessment of client demand, relative to mental health services available. This will help it provide the services at the right place at the right time,” said Ferguson.

The audit also found that close to 40 percent of clients did not show up for appointments and that the health facility could not demonstrate how it  followed-up with who missed a scheduled appointment, which is attributed to a disruption in continuity of care and a waste of capacity of staff.

NDP MLA Carla Beck says the facility in Prince Albert is a gateway for treatment in the north. She says the report highlights many concerns and a lack of funding. “What we’re seeing is an increasing need in that area, and simply a lack of resources with that need in PA,” Beck stated. “We’ve heard concerns about coordination of services; we’ve heard concerns about missing appointments. So, I think it really is time to take a thoughtful look at not only the adequacy of resources, but putting system in place that meets the demand of that community.”

Neither Health Minister Jim Reiter nor Rural Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit was available for comment. However, Brett Enns, Executive Director of Primary Care, Integrated Northeast for the Saskatchewan Health Authority admits the PA facility has capacity challenges. “The bed numbers are there, they are what they are. The demand often exceeds capacity,” explained Enns. Enns says when the PA facility turns away a client seeking short term detox services, often times that individual is placed with another service provider, such as a police holding cell.

(Sask Provincial Auditor Judy Ferguson, right. Photo: Dan Jones)