News

Expanding Eating Disorder Services in North Bay

Protecting our Progress by Improving Access to Specialized Mental Health Services

NORTH BAY – MPP Vic Fedeli is pleased to announce that the province has invested $445,000 into the North Bay Regional Health Centre to immediately address the increased demand for services to support specialized care for children and youth diagnosed with eating disorders.

“This investment will help to protect our progress in our fight against COVID-19 by ensuring our local children, youth, and families have better access to the immediate, life-saving services they need, when and where they need them,” said Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially challenging for children and youth, and health care providers have seen a surge in need for eating disorder services. The government is providing $8.1 million to support eating disorder services at the Hospital for Sick Children, McMaster Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre.

This funding will support 14 additional inpatient surge beds as well as 10 additional day treatment spaces to help patients with eating disorders more successfully transition from inpatient care to community care, ensuring that children and youth receive high-quality care in the right settings.

In addition to this new investment, the government is also providing $11.1 million in funding through the Roadmap to Wellness to support a wide range of specialized eating disorder services for children, youth, and adults, across the continuum of care. Services include:

• $10.5 million to support specialized, intensive inpatient and day treatment services to fill major gaps in care for people with severe needs and for specialized outpatient services for people with moderate to severe needs in areas where there are long waitlists or no services available.
• $600,000 for the development and implementation of an early intervention program for eating disorders that meets the diverse needs of children, youth and young adults.

QUICK FACTS

• Under the 2021 Budget, Ontario is investing an additional $1.8 billion in the hospital sector in 2021-22, bringing the total additional investment in hospitals since the start of the pandemic to over $5.1 billion. This includes an increase of $778 million in funding to meet current and future demands for services.
• In 2020-2021, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the province invested up to $194 million in one-time emergency funding for mental health and addictions services, including virtual supports which have been accessed by more than 111,000 Ontarians.
• Ontario is also investing up to $23.6 million to support internet-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which has been accessed by over 68,900 Ontarians since the province launched this program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• As part of the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario plan, the Ontario government is investing $12.4 million over two years to provide existing and expanded mental health and addictions supports for all frontline health care workers across the province. This investment will protect our progress in the fight against COVID-19 by supporting the workforce of the acute care, long-term care, and home and community care sectors in their efforts to provide high-quality care and service to patients, long-term care residents, and clients.
• Visit COVID-19: Support for People to find information about the many available, confidential, and free mental health and addictions services and supports for Ontarians of all ages.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Ontario Expanding Mental Health and Eating Disorders Services at SickKids
• Ontario Unveils Plan to Build Mental Health and Addictions System
• Ontario Supporting Children and Youth with Complex Mental Health and Addictions Needs
• Ontario Increasing Mental Health and Addictions Services
• 2021 Budget – Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy
• Visit Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine web page to view the latest provincial data and information on COVID-19 vaccines.
• Visit Ontario’s COVID-19 information website to learn more about how the province continues to protect the people of Ontario from the virus.
• For public inquiries call ServiceOntario, INFOline at 1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free in Ontario only)