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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.