Transitional care model for mental health patients developed in Ontario saves hospitals millions
Researchers based in London, Ont. are sharing the benefits of transitional care for mental health patients as they leave hospital, and the model has garnered the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The immediate period after discharge from hospital, usually the first month, can be one of the most vulnerable times in the life of someone experiencing a mental illness. It can be when they are most at risk of committing suicide,” explains Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, assistant scientific director at Lawson Health Research Institute.
Forchuk is the editor of a new resource book called From Therapeutic Relationships to Transitional Care: A Theoretical and Practical Roadmap.
“As a person-centred, evidence-based model, transitional discharge supports a smooth adjustment from hospital to community,” says Forchuk.
The resource includes a roadmap for implementing the Transitional Discharge Model (TDM) which has been developed across Ontario and recognized by the WHO.
The model was tested in nine hospitals including London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London.
On average, the length of stay in hospital was reduced by almost 10 days per admission and each site saved approximately $3.3 million per year.
“The inpatient staff continue to care for discharged clients until therapeutic relationships are established with community care providers. At the same time, we have a friendship model of peer support. These are trained people with lived experience of mental illness who have made the same journey,” says Forchuk.
It’s an experience that made a difference for TDM client Lance Dingman.
“It makes a big difference when you’re able to get back to living in the community and in your own dwelling,” said Dingman, who is now a peer support worker in the program.
“As a peer support worker, I sit with people and they tell me their story. It takes me back and I know what they are going through – I was where they are. I can share my own story and tell them what I did to get better.”
Local support lines for those living in London, Ont. area:
- Supportive Listening Line - Distress Line supporting individuals 16+yo in Elgin, Middlesex, and Oxford Counties 519-601-8055
- Reach Out Crisis Line - Crisis Line supporting individuals in Elgin, Middlesex, and Oxford Counties 519-433-2023 (call or text) or toll free 1-866-933-2023
National Crisis Hotlines:
- Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868
- Crisis Services Canada 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.