Earlier this month, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario announced the opening of a new research centre that will investigate new approaches geared to improving mental health care for kids.
One of the centre’s key goals will be to determine which approaches to treatment are working and which ones need to be refined. Dr. Mario Cappelli, Director of Psychiatric and Mental Health Research, CHEO highlighted the importance of this information when speaking to the Ottawa Citizen.
“I’m interested in finding out if what we’re doing is effective. There’s always room for improvement,” he said.
The new research centre follows the recent announcement by CHEO that they will be implementing the new Choice and Partnership Approach, known as the CAPA system. The new system is expected to drastically reduce wait times to see a psychiatrist, eventually cutting wait times from several months to six weeks.
@CHEOhospital hopes Choice and Partnership Approach for youth mental health care will reduce wait times from 9 months to 4 at end of 2016
— Josh Pringle (@PringleJosh) May 4, 2016
The Royal & @CHEOhospital will begin using proven ‘Choice and Partnership Approach’ to reduce wait times: https://t.co/dxLdJYGmYY
— The Royal (@TheRoyalMHC) May 5, 2016
“Mental Health Services research means better understanding how to provide care to children and youth based on their individual needs, ” outlined Dr. Cappelli. “Our community wants answers; we’ve listened and now we’re doing something about it. Together with our partners, we want to adjust delivery models to help improve the mental health and well-being of our kids. ”
2016 has seen CHEO respond to community demand for improved mental health treatment for children and teenagers. Through the introduction of these new programs and the hiring of leading experts in the field, CHEO hopes to develop a blueprint for better treatment that can be adopted across Canada and around the world.
As Dr. Cappelli put it: “Ultimately, we want to have global impact.”
Media Coverage
CTV Ottawa: New Mental Health Centre Planned for CHEO
Community News: Wait times for mental health care going under the knife at CHEO, the Royal
Official Press Release from the CHEO Institute