In reflection, the CIUSSS relies on its interventions in the field
Share November 5, 2020 3h00 Share In reflection, the CIUSSS is banking on its interventions in the field
Marie-Christine Bouchard La Tribune The CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS is continuing its work to assess mental health needs that are not met by the current service offer. In the meantime, the CIUSSS chooses to capitalize on its strengths rather than rely on services that may be lacking to meet the needs that are nevertheless expressed by many actors in the police and community circles.
“The establishment is continuing its work this fall, taking into account the evolving health context for the advancement of this file and is keeping all interested parties well informed of progress,” assures the spokesperson for the CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS. Geneviève Lemay.
“The Eastern Townships has a varied and innovative range of services in terms of emergency mental health services. Let us mention the work of the teams of the Mobile Psychosocial Intervention Team (ÉMIP), Urgency Distress and Emergency Mental Health at Hôtel-Dieu and Hôpital de Granby ”, she explains. .
“Our region is distinguished by a crisis intervention offer that leads our professionals to intervene in the user's living environment and assess it in his own environment. It is moreover a strength of our establishment that was identified during the accreditation visit that dealt with the trajectory in mental health. In fact, in the health and social services network, users are generally invited to come and seek their services in our clinical settings when they are experiencing a crisis situation, ”says Ms. Lemay.
“The examples of Urgency Distress and the PIA illustrate that responding to the needs of people in crisis can be diversified and not just by simply having a crisis center. However, it is not excluded that the needs for temporary accommodation will be reviewed and improved, ”says the organization.
Remember that the teams of the Mobile Psychosocial Intervention Team (ÉMIP) are made up of a uniformed patrol officer from the Sherbrooke Police Department (SPS) and a social worker from the CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS who circulate in the streets of Sherbrooke to answer emergency calls. This pilot project was born in 2016 in Sherbrooke before becoming permanent in 2018 because of its great impact on the population.
Moreover, other police forces wish to be inspired by it. The government will also look at the possibility of extending this type of service elsewhere in the coming months, in particular because of the increase in psychological distress observed in Quebec during this pandemic period.
“It is not always easy to negotiate with the police unions, but we would like to have mixed patrols for social problems which are currently dealt with by the police. There are police forces who are asking for additional support on the side of social assistance, ”Quebec Premier François Legault said at a press briefing Tuesday.
The members of the ÉMIP intervene to assess people in distress on site in order to quickly refer them to the appropriate resource (CLSC, hospital or community organization).
The Eastern Townships also has another service that allows responders to travel directly to the field, called Emergency Distress. In the event of an urgent situation when regular services are closed, an on-call worker is available at all times to help the person in crisis and try to defuse the problematic situation.
The service is accessible to the population through Info-Social by dialing 811, option 2. The service is available 24 hours a day, all week.
