A Stoney Creek clinic that provides mental-health services is closing and being consolidated with a psychiatry clinic in the Mountain, according to an official with St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
Dr. Randi McCabe, interim vice-president of mental health and addictions, said in a statement that the decision to consolidate East Region Mental Health Services (ERMHS) with the Community Psychiatry Clinic comes following “significant” patient drops at ERMHS.
She said there’s been a 20 per cent decrease in the number of patients from 2022-2023 to today.
ERMHS says it offers individual and group services to people over age 16 who are experiencing serious mental illness and are referred to the facility. It currently works with about 350 patients, and McCabe said 56 per cent of them access the service virtually.
ERMHS is currently located inside St. Joseph’s King Campus, an outpatient facility located at 2757 King St. E., and the Community Psychiatry Clinic is in its West 5th Campus.
Letters about the consolidation efforts have already been sent to patients, said McCabe, adding that starting next month, the program won’t be taking any new referrals.
She said the ERMHS is expected to fully transition by the end of March, depending on clinicians’ availability and “completion of patient care plans.”
“The decision to consolidate services was made after a review of existing services and a recognition of the need to respond to changing needs in the community, which is experiencing a concerning rise in mental health and addiction challenges.”
McCabe said St. Joseph’s is “working on a case-by-case basis” with the ERMHS’s 13 staff members to help them find other opportunities at the King Street East location or look at early retirement plans. No layoffs are currently planned, according to her.
Family doctor supports mental health services ‘close to home’
Dr. Brian McKenna, the lead physician at the Hamilton Family Health Team, said while the consolidation won’t result in a loss of services overall, it “does mean a loss of service for the east end and for the Stoney Creek communities.”
“It takes strong, integrated mental health services across the health system in order to help meet the demand,” he told CBC Hamilton.
He also said continuity of care is a “big determinant as to how effective virtual care is likely to be relative to in-person care.”
“I think it is also helpful … when these services can be made available as close to home as possible.”
McKenna said most people in Ontario can’t access mental health services through their family doctors’ offices, so rely on services like those offered at ERMHS.
“My guess would be that someone who lives in East Hamilton or Stoney Creek and has transportation challenges relied on the close geographical proximity to [the ERMHS] … they, theoretically, are the group that I would worry most about.”
McCabe said those wanting to access in-person services can still do so at the West 5th Campus and will receive support with transportation, such as the use of taxi slips.
Hamilton therapist says giving care options is important
McCabe said the rising number of virtual use of ERMHS services was another factor in the consolidation decision, adding there were fewer dropouts in online care.
Hamilton psychotherapist Carly Crawford said it’s important to give both in-person and online care options.
“In a perfect world, we would be able to give people the options so that they can choose,” she said in an interview.
Crawford said one of the advantages of virtual care is therapists can help more people who don’t have to live nearby or deal with travel and other issues.
On the other hand, Crawford said, some patients may benefit more from seeing a therapist in a comfortable environment and face to face.
“The whole experience of going to therapy, and driving or getting to the therapy office, and sitting in the space, and processing things as you leave and being able to take that time is really important,” she said.