Province expands mental health access with new rapid consultation pathway

An expanded “pathway” will help improve access to psychiatric assessments and consultations across Nova Scotia, the government says.

The Mental Health and Addictions Program, according to the province, will improve access for people referred by their primary care provider.

“Timely access to the right level of support can be life-changing for Nova Scotians navigating mental health issues,” said Brian Comer, Minister of Addictions and Mental Health. “We are proud of hardworking healthcare teams who champion new ideas and ways of working to create better experiences for their patients.”

The goal is to allow for rapid access to psychiatry to connect patients with the care they need, sooner. This pathway will roll out in stages, starting at adult community mental health and addictions clinics in the Eastern Zone this summer, with the Northern and Western zones to follow.

“The primary care provider to specialist consultation relationship is central to providing effective patient care. Facilitating access to consultation with a stepped care approach—right provider, right place, right time—connects the patient to the needed service or provider as quickly and efficiently as possible. The enhancement of adult community mental health teams to facilitate rapid and efficient access to the right clinician supports the patient’s recovery,” said Dr. Andrew Harris, senior medical director of the Mental Health and Addictions Program, Nova Scotia Health.

The province says this all builds on the Rapid Access Stabilization Program (RASP), which launched in the Central Zone two years ago.

The pathway takes people referred for care and matches them with services through the Mental Health and Addictions Provincial Intake Service for outpatient consultation.