New clinic eases mental health wait times for youth

Wait times for Edmonton youth needing mental health services have substantially improved in recent months following the opening of a new health facility in the city’s south side, the Alberta government said Monday.

The Rutherford Mental Health Clinic nearly triples the capacity of specialized clinic-based mental health delivered by Alberta Health Services in Edmonton.

It provides programs and services for children and youth ages four to 18.

The clinic currently has 10 staff members, including five mental health and substance-use therapists, a family counsellor, a youth substance-use counsellor and a child psychiatrist. All of the positions at the clinic are new positions funded by the Alberta government.

Edmonton faced an increased demand for children’s mental health services last year, according to AHS. In addition, staff vacancies and leaves impacted the availability of services and wait times. The percentage of children receiving a mental health appointment within 30 days of referral went from 52 per cent before the clinic opened to 85 per cent, according to AHS data collected as of the end of January 2017.

Brandy Payne, associate minister of health, said this is just the start of improved services.

“Work is underway to bring even more services and staff online here at the Rutherford clinic, including a short-term walk-in clinic and group therapy sessions,” she said.

Mark Snaterse, executive director of addiction and mental health services for AHS, expects the clinic to run at full capacity during the next year.

He said although recruiting specialized positions takes time, almost half of the clinic’s positions are filled.

Though there are no further sites in development, Snaterse said the long-term plan is to open more community facilities like the Rutherford clinic.