Doctors outraged as child and adolescent psychiatry emergency consultation hours are being reduced by NLHS
It’s a decision that has local doctors expressing deep concern.
NTV News has learned that child and adolescent psychiatry emergency consultation hours are being reduced at Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services.
All in-person emergency psychiatric consultations at the Janeway, along with emergency virtual consultations for regional emergency departments, will now be available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on weekends and holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says consultation requests from outside the Janeway Emergency Department will only be accepted from the psychiatrist on call where local psychiatric services are available, or from a physician or nurse practitioner in areas without an on-call psychiatry service.
In a memo released by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services on June 30, it reads “outside the new consultation hours, the child and adolescent psychiatrist on call will remain available around the clock for telephone advice on emergency cases requiring specialist guidance. Any additional consultations will be at the discretion of the psychiatrist on call.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services says the changes are intended to make the best use of available child and adolescent psychiatry resources while continuing to provide timely specialist support for children and youth experiencing psychiatric emergencies.
Meanwhile, NTV also received a copy of a statement from Janeway physicians – requesting that NL Health Services reconsider this reduction in consultation services or, at minimum, engage frontline Emergency Department physicians, nursing leadership, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and other key stakeholders in developing an alternative model that preserves safe access to psychiatric expertise for children requiring emergency care.
“We are also concerned that this decision disproportionately affects children and youth living outside the St. John’s region. The Janeway serves as the provincial referral centre for pediatric emergency care, and many families travel considerable distances to access services that are unavailable within their own communities,” the statement notes. “Limiting specialist consultation further widens existing inequities in access to pediatric mental health care across Newfoundland and Labrador.
“While we appreciate the significant human resource challenges facing Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, resource limitations should not become barriers to the delivery of safe and equitable emergency care. Any changes to consultation services should be accompanied by a comprehensive plan that ensures children presenting in psychiatric crisis continue to receive timely specialist assessment and appropriate disposition, regardless of the time of presentation.”
Local physicians also reaffirm that patients deserve access to specialized mental health care when they need it most—not only during limited daytime hours.
NTV News if following the story and will have more information as it becomes available.
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