Ontario Expanding Access to Mental Health Services in Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston
May 2, 2023
As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is connecting more Ontarians to mental health and addictions services by expanding and improving inter-professional primary care in Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, with a special focus on mental health.
“Mental health affects our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, act and feel at every stage of life”, said MPP John Jordan, LFK. “As part of the 2023 Budget, Ontario is addressing these needs in Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, including a new Family Health Team site in Carleton Place. Mental and physical health are equally important in our overall health.”
Providing over $8.5 million in dedicated mental health funding to the region’s 45 family health teams, five nurse practitioner-led clinics, 22 community health centres, and Indigenous primary health care organization is helping people better connect with the care they need, closer to home, in their own communities.
With this funding, the new Family Health Team site in Carleton Place, will be able to address backlogs and provide people with shorter wait times for mental health and addictions services. They’ll provide programs to support child and adolescent mental health, assist residents with managing diabetes, dementia, asthma, and more through new nurses, Social Workers, a Registered Dietician, Respiratory Therapist, Pharmacist, and administrative support.
“Providing Ontarians with the right care in the right place is a pillar of the Your Health plan, and that includes expanding access to mental health and addiction care to connect people and their families to timely, convenient care, closer to home,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By continuing to build on our Roadmap to Wellness, we are making it easier and faster for individuals and families to connect to mental health and addictions supports with additional investments and innovative new programs.”
To make it faster and easier for young people to connect to mental health and substance use support, primary care, social services, and more, Ontario is also expanding the number of Youth Wellness Hubs by adding eight new hubs to the 14 that are already operating across the province. Youth Wellness Hubs are filling major gaps in care for youth substance use, concurrent disorders, and transition-aged youth by providing walk-in access to primary care and mental health and addictions services for people aged 12 to 25. These core clinical services are co-located within a range of other supports in the fields of education, employment, training, housing, and other community and social services.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
MPP John Jordan Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston
www.johnjordanmpp.ca
613-284-1630
Facebook: John Jordan MPP Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston
Twitter: @john_jordanlfk