MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY UPDATE August 2017
Veterans with a Disability Benefit for a Mental Health Condition As of March 2017, VAC served 192,597 clients: 130,621 of these are Canadian Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members or Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)* o Of these, 19% (24,221) are in receipt of a disability benefit from VAC for a psychiatric condition 73% of these (17,623) are in receipt of a VAC disability benefit for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Of these, 27% (4,833) are Afghanistan Veterans *Remaining 61,976 are survivors (all clients who are not themselves a Veteran but are in receipt of benefits from VAC for a family member s service). Source: Veterans Affairs, Facts and Figures Book, March 2017 2
Mental Health Services & Supports For all Veterans*: Screening by VAC employee or client contact 1-800 number VAC Assistance Services Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) Services Canadian Veteran-Specific Mental Health First Aid Pastoral Outreach Two Mobile Applications: o OSI Connect Mobile o PTSD Coach Canada Operational Stress Injury Resource for Caregivers Veterans and Mental Health Online Tutorial *and family members, where applicable 3
Mental Health Services & Supports For Veterans in receipt of a mental health disability benefit*: Services and supports previously listed Case Management Services Specialized mental health and tele-mental health clinical services in VAC-funded operational stress injury (OSI) Clinics as well as satellite clinic sites close to where Veterans live National Network of approximately 4,000 registered mental health professionals to deliver mental health services to Veterans, including: o Specialized Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment Facilities o Clinical Care Manager Services *and family members, where applicable 4
Network of Operational Stress Injury Clinics Network of 11 OSI Clinics (10 outpatient; 1 inpatient) and 10 satellites/ points of services complemented by 7 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Operational Trauma and Stress Support Centres Funded by VAC but operated by provincial health authorities through Memorandum of Understandings OSI Clinics services include assessment, treatment and support Total clients referred since 2002: 16,257 (as of March 2017) A National Wait time Portal tracks % of time OSI Clinics respect established wait times services standards for assessment and treatment The Client-Reported Outcomes Management Information System (CROMIS) measures clinic treatment outcomes 5
Veterans Affairs Canada funded Operational Stress Injuries Clinic Network Canadian Forces Operational and Trauma Stress Support Centers () Joint VAC-CAF Operational Stress Injury Clinic Network OSI Residential Treatment Clinic Vancouver Carewest Edmonton Deer Lodge Royal Ottawa Sainte-Anne CHUQ Horizon Health Fredericton Nova Scotia Halifax Esquimalt Edmonton Parkwood Valcartier Gagetown Ottawa Petawawa 6
Number of Referrals per Year in VAC-Funded OSI Clinics 3500 3214 3000 2500 2282 2000 1690 1780 1919 1500 1413 1000 977 610 833 1009 500 189 341 0
VAC Mental Health Strategic Objectives I. Provide timely access to Veteran-centric, integrated, evidence-based mental health care Build service capacity Proactively address both structural and attitudinal barriers to accessing services II. Promote and disseminate evidence Ensure safety, timely recovery and cost-effectiveness Invest in mental health research and mental health innovations III. Develop and strengthen partnerships Ensure alignment with mental health approach of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Benefit from Canadian expertise in the domain of mental health and substance misuse IV. Demonstrate leadership and optimal communication Establish a VAC Mental Health Directorate Put in place a Veteran Stakeholder Advisory Committee V. Measure and optimize outcomes Implement VAC Mental Health Performance Measures 8
Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan Mental Health Strategy 2015-2020 Action Items: 38% completed Establishment of Directorate of Mental Health OSISS and Network expansion Implementation of MHFA, etc. 50% in process DND/VAC Suicide Prevention Strategy Options for Centre of Excellence specialized in Mental Health Alignment with CAF 12% planned Mental Health Website Content, etc. 9
Summary of Mental Health Initiatives 2014-Onward* Additional human resources to digitize DND service records to support disability benefits New Decision Making Model for disability benefits adjudication Number of VAC Assistance Service counselling sessions increased from 8 to 20 per issue Expansion of OSI Clinic Network Development of service standards for wait times at the OSI Clinic Network Implementation of web portal to monitor and report on percentage of time OSI Clinic wait time service standards are met Development and implementation of Veteran-specific Mental Health First Aid literacy program 15 additional OSISS peer support coordinators Pilot project to extend Military Family Resource Centre access to CAF Veterans and their families Review of VAC s Mental Health Strategy and development of measures to assess its effectiveness In response to stakeholder feedback: Parliamentary Committees, Office of Auditor General, Veterans Ombudsman 10
New Mental Health Initiatives Development of a DND/VAC Suicide Prevention Strategy* Development of options for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence specialized in Mental Health* Partnership with Mood Disorder Society to develop and implement skills development training and support services for unemployed Veterans with a mental health condition Partnership with St. Elizabeth Care to develop an Online Caregiver Training Program to support informal caregivers of Veterans with an OSI * Items in Minister s Mandate Letter 11
Research Initiatives Road to Civilian Life (R2CL) Five-year $1M Research Program to understand transition experience Family Study: Mental Health and Well-Being Two-year $250K qualitative study on the health and well-being of families of Veterans with an OSI Service Dogs: Pilot Study 30-month $250K project to study impact of service dogs on PTSD Veterans Service Dogs: National Standards Two-year $300K project to develop national standards for service dogs Equine Therapy Projects Two-year $250K study on the effectiveness of equine therapy for Veterans with mental health conditions; $25K funding for CanPraxis research Veteran Suicide Mortality Study DND and National Mortality data linkages to access annual suicide rates Life After Service Studies (LASS) Population health and well-being survey Two cycles completed (2010, 2013); third underway 12