
For Immediate Release
October 24, 2024
NDP Leader Jim Dinn (St. John’s Centre) is appalled by the numbers released in the new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) regarding wait times for mental health counselling.
According to the report, Newfoundland and Labrador leads the country in longest wait times for accessing community mental health counselling. According to CIHI, from 2023-2024 Newfoundland and Labrador had 3,178 referrals with the median days waited for services is 51. Dinn says this shows that government needs to do much more to address this troubling issue.
“We know from hearing from constituents how hard it is to access mental health counselling in this province. Seeing the numbers compared to the rest of Canada confirmed that reality,” said Dinn. “Our provinces median wait times are double that of the country. We must address this.”
It is even more striking when comparing our numbers to those of our Atlantic neighbours. Nova Scotia had 15,179 referrals with a median wait of 32 days. New Brunswick had 19,946 referrals, with the median days waited just 7 days. Dinn says this points out that what government believes they are doing is not yielding results.
“We just had the Premier show off the new Mental Health and Addictions facility, which was much needed. However, I can’t help but think about how the new Western Memorial has already reached bed capacity. With the new facility having less beds than the Waterford Hospital, I worry it will have the same fate.
“When it comes to someone suffering with a mental illness or with addictions, wait times are crucial to healing. If someone is ready to receive services, they need them as soon as possible. We cannot continue to expect those suffering to wait almost two months to receive counselling. It is abysmal.”
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For further information, contact Stephanie Curran, Media and Communications Officer, NDP Caucus at 330-0328 (o), or stephaniecurran@gov.nl.ca
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