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Data shows some psychiatric patients wait days in the ER for a hospital admission
Experts say underfunded community care, overcrowded emergency rooms and too few psychiatric beds are leaving patients waiting up to 16 days for admission.
- On Tuesday, reports revealed that psychiatric patients across Canada face extended waits in emergency departments for in-patient beds, often exceeding the time required for standard hospital admissions.
- Systemic underfunding and a surge in demand have exacerbated the crisis, as more than five million people over the age of 15 in Canada met the diagnostic criteria for mood, anxiety, or substance use disorders in 2022.
- Last year, Alberta and Quebec reported the longest average wait times for psychiatric hospital admissions, with some patients waiting up to 16 days in emergency departments for a bed.
- Governments in Alberta and British Columbia recently announced 400 and 132 new treatment beds respectively, though Dr. Paul Parks, an emergency medicine physician in Medicine Hat, said "there's no possible way you can take care of hundreds of thousands of more people in dozens of new beds."
- Addressing the crisis requires a holistic approach including increased in-patient beds, community supports, and housing availability, Karen Duncalf, Alberta Psychiatric Association President, said, rather than relying solely on bed expansion.
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36 Articles
There’s a worsening crisis inside Canada’s fluorescent-lit emergency rooms, psychiatric care experts warn
Mental health experts say there's a worsening crisis inside of fluorescent-lit emergency rooms across the country — psychiatric patients wait far longer for an in-patient bed than other people.
·Toronto, Canada
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Last year, one patient from Alberta had to wait 16 days for an emergency before being admitted to a psychiatric unit. Another patient from British Columbia waited a little over nine days.
·Montreal, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources36
Leaning Left20Leaning Right0Center14Last UpdatedBias Distribution59% Left
Bias Distribution
- 59% of the sources lean Left
59% Left
L 59%
C 41%
Factuality
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