AMMEND THE CURRENT LAWS PREVENTING MANITOBA PATIENTS IN NEED OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE TO GET HELP OUTSIDE OF OUR PROVINCE BY VIRTUAL OR TELEHEALTH OPTIONS.

Demand for Mental Health professionals has grown exponentially during the pandemic, but the pool of professionals has stagnated. The wait for new patients can be as long as 17 months in some cases. If you want to get online psychiatric help and are willing to pay for it, there are some great online Canadian resources, but due to current laws in Manitoba, they cannot legally help anyone in our province. 

 According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba: 

“Full (practising) class registration in Manitoba is required for those physicians registered in another province or a jurisdiction outside of Canada who are seeking to practice virtual medicine for any patient located in Manitoba. This applies whether treating Manitoba patients for insured or non-insured services. Currently, there is no separate virtual medicine registration in Manitoba for treating Manitoba patients.” 

For a long time, we have been hearing catchphrases like “Ending The Stigma” and “Bell Lets Talk.”  It has been a very important step in recognizing mental health issues and encouraging individuals to seek help with their internal battles, but that’s community support, not medical support.

Ending stigmas is important but the next step is moving past this and providing the resources to make a difference. There are major issues in our current system that need addressing.

In my personal mental health struggle, it has become apparent that our resources in Manitoba are extremely lacking, to put it lightly. Don't take this the wrong way, I am in no way putting down or degrading the doctors, nurses and workers who are in the field. There are incredible people currently trying their absolute best and doing amazing jobs. The problem is, there are so few professionals that they simply can't handle the volume of patients. 

My doctor told me the current wait time to see a psychiatrist in Brandon is 17 months because the local doctors either have no room for more patients or are retiring. If you have dealt with or helped someone through a mental health crisis, you know how critical getting timely help is. 

Indeed, this sort of wait time is extremely dangerous. 

With so many people across the province in need of mental health support, it is a sad situation where our province needs help, but at the same time, is unwilling to allow people to reach out for help from resources readily available within our own country. 

Manitoba is willing to send patients who are filling up our intensive care units to other provinces for help. How is this different? 

I am pleading with our government, please take this seriously! 

Catchphrases will only go so far: People actually need help. Amend the law preventing people from getting help from outside our province and please invest in our mental health resources! 

This is literally a life and death issue for some people.