There is a before and an after the National Center of Excellence, explains the psychiatrist at the University Institute in mental health of Quebec, Marc-André Roy. The Center has established standards of practice, has guided the establishment of services. It is difficult for each institution to have the necessary expertise to perform all these functions.
The psychiatrist at the Granby hospital, Geneviève Moss, fears that this expertise accumulated over the years will be lost.
These are clinicians who are field specialists who worked there. Suddenly this center no longer exists, we don’t know if it will stay
, she laments.
It is a great disappointment, because we know that in mental health, it is difficult to put together teams of experts who support the regions.
Same story among community organizations. The center regularly offered them training.
What would have been interesting is for the ministry to consult all the regions, all the mental health teams in the various CISSS and CIUSSS in Quebec to see its impact in terms of support and expertise.
, mentions René Cloutier, Director General of the Avant de Cracker Network, a federation which brings together multiple organizations dedicated to better supporting people with mental illness.
Geneviève Moss and Marc-André Roy were surprised to learn of the closure.
We were not consulted before the decision to abolish the center, says Roy. We really hope to be part of the consultations with a view to setting up new bodies to replace him.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services has scheduled a meeting on February 15 to present the state of the situation and to hear questions and concerns
.
Neither the Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, nor the Ministry of Health wished to grant interviews on the issue.
Several doctors, organizations and associations have signed a letter to express their concerns. The document, of which Radio-Canada has obtained a copy, will be sent this week to Lionel Carmant, we were told.
–
