N.B. government spending $1.3M on Moncton mental health-care initiative

New Brunswick is launching a new mental health-care initiative in Moncton.

The New Brunswick government says it will spend $1.3 million for the first year of a Moncton-based initiative, which will have a mental health primary care team working alongside psychiatrists.

The provincial government says three nurse practitioners and one family physician with advanced mental health and addictions training will support patients who have moderate needs, by providing short-term stabilization.

Rob McKee, New Brunswick’s minister responsible for addictions and mental health services, says the initiative will ensure psychiatrists can focus on the most complex cases.

“This will be a way of working together… nurse practitioners, family physicians, with specialized training in mental health and addictions… to work in collaboration with psychiatrists to really be able to take on more patients and get more people access to care,” says McKee.

The province says patients who need brief stabilization will receive short-term support before returning to their primary care provider with treatment recommendations and ongoing care plans.

McKee says the care setting will also serve as a “hands-on training hub” where primary care providers and learners from across the province can receive one-on-one mentorship and practical experience alongside psychiatric specialists.

“We’ll have that training ground through the clinic here in Moncton, but (the effect) will be provincewide when they get that training here,” said McKee. “Then they can go back and open clinics in the community, or work in collaborative care clinics, the model that we’re opening for primary care.”

The initiative is called PRISME (Program for Regional Interprofessional Specialization in Mental Health and Education) and was developed in partnership with the Université de Moncton and the Université de Sherbrooke. Learners will be able to receive mental health specialization certifications through the plan.

Dr. Marc Vatour, a psychiatrist with the Vitalité Health Network, says Friday’s announcement was an encouraging first step for improving mental health services within the Moncton area.

“There’s still a lot of work to do, there’s still a lot of investment that we believe the government must step up to help us create this,” says Dr. Vatour, mentioning the development of an academic curriculum within PRISME. “There’s also the question of infrastructure that’s needed to house all of these teachers, researchers, students, and also these clinicians.”

There is a currently a shortage of psychiatrists in New Brunswick with more than 30 vacancies, according to the provincial government.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.