The Jewish General Hospital’s (JGH) child psychiatry services might be at risk due to financial constraints, the hospital’s chief psychiatrist warned.
Dr. Karl Looper said the Centre for Child Development and Mental Health is anticipating a $600,000 budgetary deficit.
But the JGH administration says the centre is “in no danger of closing” and its services continue uninterrupted and without change – for now.
“An essential and irreplaceable part of child mental health services in Montreal”
Looper described the centre as “an essential and irreplaceable part of child mental health services in Montreal” whose loss would have a “devastating effect.”
The centre provides psychiatric services to anglophone children on the Island of Montreal and surrounding areas. Its multidisciplinary team treats children up to age 15 who have psychological, emotional and behavioural problems.
Looper told CBC News that the JGH administration informed him of the expected shortfall in the coming fiscal year that begins in April.
In response, in a Jan. 20 statement, West-Centre Montreal Health, the umbrella agency that administers the JGH, says it will “conduct a rigorous exercise to plan the budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. During this exercise, all the programs in the network, including child psychiatry, will be reviewed, with the aim of improving efficiency without cutting services to the public.
“In the process, West-Central Montreal Health intends to achieve the optimization goals set by the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Once the budget has been finalized, details will be announced only with the ministry’s approval.”
The JGH is one of 19 institutions under West-Central Montreal Health, a CIUSSS created with the implementation of the health-reform Bill 10 last April.
The JGH has had a child psychiatry division for 50 years, and in 2010, the centre moved into its own new facility, the Ruth and Saul Kaplan Pavilion, consolidating all child psychiatry services under one roof. It was built largely with private donations.
The facility was hailed at the time of its inauguration as a model for caring for youngsters, with its bright, airy space, full-sized gym, and play areas where they can be discreetly monitored.
The centre houses a school, run in collaboration with the English Montreal School Board, and a day hospital, as well as providing an evening program for those attending regular school and outpatient services for older children.
Looper asked the Jewish General Hospital Foundation to step in, if necessary, to save the program.
“The [centre] makes a unique contribution to the child psychiatry services of the McGill hospital network in complementarity with the Douglas Hospital and the Montreal Children’s Hospital,” he wrote in a Jan. 12 letter to foundation vice-president Larry Sidel. “It is also a referral centre for the English-language school boards, Miriam Home [services for developmental delay] and the family judicial system,”West-Central Montreal Health stated that Looper’s making that letter public was an “unauthorized disclosure,” which has left a “misleading impression.”
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It says the JGH has in the past “reaffirmed the viability and importance of the child psychiatry program, based on its quality and the valuable services that it delivers.”
The agency further notes: “It was the JGH administration that suggested Dr. Looper contact the foundation for additional funding… This approach, i.e., turning to the foundation, is considered appropriate for programs which the administration recognizes as being of high quality and meeting superior standards.”
Sidel told The CJN he is pleased with the statement, feeling that it “puts everything in perspective” and should reassure the public. He is also satisfied that the foundation’s role in helping to support child psychiatry services is clarified. “If anyone would like to give us money, I would be more than happy to show them around to see the wonderful things we are doing,” he added.