Family of woman battling mental illness calls health-care system broken

The family of a young Winnipeg woman struggling to cope with a mental illness says she made another attempt on her life, was hospitalized at Health Sciences Centre and released the same day.

CBC has agreed to not identify the woman or her family as they fear it could cause the woman, whom the CBC is calling Natasha, to spiral further into anxiety or depression.

Natasha's sister is speaking out after Natasha's suicide attempts recently elevated.

She says the network that is supposed to help Natasha is broken.

"While families like mine sit here and we wait for that reform and change to happen, we're losing loved ones all the time because it's not happening fast enough," said the sister, whom the CBC is calling Kate.

Kate is especially concerned after the family of Reid Bricker confirmed last week that his remains were found in Selkirk in June. Bricker went missing after he was discharged from hospital following a suicide attempt. Kate now fears her sister could follow a similar path through a system she says is not working.

"We want to be proactive. We don't want to just be sitting here, waiting for the 'I love you' texts, [and] to go and look for her. We don't want to have to get that phone call from a friend saying 'You need to call an ambulance,'" said Kate.

Natasha is a university student in her 20s with plans and aspirations. She was receiving treatment from the Intensive Child and Adolescent Treatment Service (ICATS) before she aged out of the program at 18. Now she and her family are navigating a system that Tara Brousseau Snider with the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba describes as a revolving door.

"Going in through the emergency door system and then they come out, and they come out in the middle of the night. They're coming out and they are coming out out of plan. Yet they know they're sick. The families know they are sick," Brousseau Snider said.

Privacy rules often leave families in the dark, she added.

"The system won't talk to the families. So yeah, we're seeing people in crisis continuing to stay in crisis, and it's very, very disturbing," she said.

In a statement, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said patients are told to follow up with an appropriate professional or community support based on their symptoms and needs.

"Information for community supports is provided and at times, the hospital may help to ensure the connection with community supports is made for the patient should they wish it," the health authority said in a statement.

Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba officials said in the last nine years, the number of calls the organization has received has risen from 11,000 to 90,000 in 2015.

Awareness campaigns in the past few years have done a great job of breaking down some of the stigma around mental health issues, but the funding for resources hasn't kept pace, Brousseau Snider said.

The current system is complex, with multiple departments and organizations that aren't linked or communicating with each other, she said.

Kate doesn't believe the system is doing enough. After Natasha's latest stint at Health Sciences Centre, she was sent home with her family with the same information pamphlets they've gotten each time they've gone to the hospital.

Health care system has 'a ways to go'

Manitoba Mood Disorders is starting to work with families who have been involved with the mental health care system to develop a parent navigation network. The peer group will aim to support other parents as they navigate the system for their children. The network will help parents and families advocate for their loved ones and connect them to resources.

"We're going to be there. We're going to offer peer support, which is lived experience, so that people and other families can get help. We are going to try and stop these tragedies from happening, because we are going to be there for them," said Brousseau Snider.

James Bolton, medical director of the WRHA Crisis Response Centre, acknowledges the months-long waitiing list for people to receive a psychiatric consultation can be a frustrating part of seeking treatment for mental health issues.

"I think we have a ways to go before we can say that we are treating people even up to the standards that we want to see, let alone a best case scenario," he said. 

Bolton said making improvements to the mental health system starts with public attitudes and social determinants of health, and a focus on families and support within families and peer circles. Bolton says the healthcare industry itself needs to recognize how big the problem is.

"Recognizing the prevalence — the sheer prevalence — of mental health problems and increasing the focus of mental health as part of primary care, then improving the access to specialist mental health care and really increasing more resources for people in the ultra acute time periods, where symptoms are at their most severe or safety is a paramount concern."

For now, Natasha is on a waiting list to get a proper diagnosis.

Kate isn't sure what lies ahead for her sister and their family.

"At this point, we're really unsure of what we can do. We've done all we can do. We've gotten the referrals. We're on the waiting lists. We've done all of that, so now we sit here and hope that we get a call sooner or later [and] that we can get her in."