Additional Investments Will Improve Access to Specialized Care for Children and Youth
TORONTO — The Ontario government is investing an additional $5.8 million to expand specialized paediatric mental health and eating disorders services at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). The expansion of outpatient programs will help to protect our progress by addressing the increased demand for mental health supports during the pandemic and is part of the government’s plan to build a modern, connected mental health and addictions system to serve Ontarians of all ages.
“Our government is committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of Ontario’s children and youth and we will continue to make investments like this that build capacity and improve access to mental health and addictions services,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This funding will support the world-class team at SickKids in providing specialized services to vulnerable children and youth that could save lives.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially challenging for children and youth across the province. In the last year, SickKids’ inpatient Psychiatry and Adolescent Medicine unit has regularly operated at or over full capacity and the hospital has experienced a 35 per cent annual increase of admissions for its eating disorders program. This funding will enable SickKids to provide approximately 40,000 additional clinical hours and help SickKids work towards their target wait time of one month for outpatient mental health services, so more patients can receive the care they need earlier and before needing to be admitted to the hospital.
“Since the release of Roadmap to Wellness, our government’s top priority has been to make the critical investments necessary to fill urgent gaps in mental health and addictions care, reduce waiting lists and address extensive wait times across the province,” said Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “Through the expansion of SickKids’ mental health and eating disorder services, our government is delivering on our commitment to build a treatment network that will support children, youth, families, and communities across Ontario.”
This new funding is part of $19 million in additional operating funding that SickKids will receive starting in 2021-22, which represents an increase of 3.8 per cent over the previous year. This is the third straight year that the Ontario government has increased the hospital’s operating funding, to ensure they can continue to provide high-quality health care for children and youth.
“Increasing access to mental health and eating disorders services for children and youth has never been so urgent. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the rising rates of paediatric mental health concerns and particularly eating disorders,” says Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO, SickKids. “Thanks to this increased investment in the mental health and well-being of our children and youth, we can help put young people on healthy trajectories today to bring better futures.”
Quick Facts
- Mental health and eating disorders services at SickKids are provided by the Brain and Mental Health Program and the Garry Hurvitz Centre for Community Mental Health. The Garry Hurvitz Centre for Brain and Mental Health, an academic hub that cultivates the interprofessional integration of research, education and clinical care, is a key partner to clinical programs in working to improve the outcomes of children and youth living with brain and mental health disorders.
- SickKids is ranked as the top paediatric health care centre in the world, according to Newsweek’s 2022 World’s Best Hospitals list for facilities specializing in paediatrics.
- The Ontario government has provided SickKids with over $381,000 to support an additional 1,466 MRI operating hours, as well as additional one-time funding to enable the hospital to operate on evenings and weekends and catch up on surgeries in 2021-22. This funding is part of Ontario’s comprehensive surgical recovery plan to provide patients with the care they need and reduce wait times for surgeries and procedures.
- Under the 2021 Budget, Ontario is investing an additional $1.8 billion in the hospital sector in 2021-22, bringing the total additional investment in hospitals since the start of the pandemic to over $5.1 billion. This includes an increase of $778 million in funding to meet current and future demands for services, and represents a minimum 1 per cent increase for all publicly funded hospitals to help them keep pace with patient needs and to increase access to high-quality care for patients and families across Ontario.
- As part of the province’s fall preparedness plan, SickKids received funding for up to 13 additional beds to help build additional capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source Province of Ontario
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