Health authority struggles to meet demand for psychological reports
Requests for assessments have nearly doubled in past three years, AHS says
A staggering increase in mental health assessments being ordered by Alberta courts is stretching the capacity of the province’s health authority, according to an Alberta Health Services executive director.
The number of psychological assessments that Alberta judges order for those accused or convicted of crimes has nearly doubled in the past three years, Alberta Health Services addiction and mental health executive director Mark Snaterse said in a recent phone interview.
Snaterse said it’s anticipated that staff will have completed about 1,000 assessments in total in 2017.
“I do have to admit it is really stretching us, and we’ve had to look at all of our processes to become as efficient as possible, but we still want to make sure that we’re offering the top quality assessments the courts need,” he said.
To cope with the volume, AHS has hired additional forensic psychiatrists and other staff such as psychometrists and psychologists. Some staff have been reassigned to assessment from treatment roles. Snaterse also said AHS has gone to court many times to get time extensions to complete the orders.
Although the rise in demand for assessments creates challenges, Snaterse said it’s “good news” because it reflects recognition in the courts that many offenders have underlying mental health and addiction issues that need to be taken into account.
The type and complexity of the assessments vary, Snaterse said.
Early on, AHS staff may be called to police stations to make initial assessments. As a case makes its way into the courts, judges can ask for reports on whether a person is fit to stand trial, or if they were criminally responsible for their actions at the time of the offence. Both of these types of assessments were recently ordered for a man accused of attacking an Edmonton police officer and mowing down pedestrians with a U-Haul truck. Following a conviction, courts may call for a pre-sentencing report to be prepared that can affect the length and type of punishment an offender receives.
Staff often go into the community or to the Edmonton Remand Centre to complete the assessments.
But in some cases inmates are brought to Alberta Hospital if their needs are particularly high or complex. The beds available to inmates are limited, and there’s always a small wait list, Snaterse said.
One of those beds is presently being used by convicted killer Jeremy Newborn.
Recently, a judge ordered that Newborn continue to be held in Alberta Hospital in Edmonton until his upcoming December court hearing is completed.
In court, AHS argued Newborn — whose intellectual capacity was at the fore of arguments during his trial — was well enough to be transferred back to the Edmonton Remand Centre. But the judge in the case sided with both the Crown and defence argument that transferring Newborn back to jail could trigger the same issues that sent him to hospital in March, derailing the upcoming hearing.
Snaterse described the Newborn case as a “unique” and “difficult” situation.
“Now we have one less bed that we can actually bring a sick person into so that we can keep up with the volume of court-ordered assessments that we’re asked to do,” he said.
In response to questions about delays in assessment completion affecting court proceedings, Alberta Justice spokeswoman Katherine Thompson stated in a recent email that neither the courts nor Crown prosecutors track the number of orders made for mental health assessments.
“As far as they are aware courtordered mental health assessments have not been seen to negatively impact court processes or court cases,” Thompson said.